Salvia divinorum is a sacred medicine that less famous than Ayahuasca or magic mushrooms, but this is an herb that deserves some focused attention especially if you suffer from neuropathic pain or any kind of nervous system disorder involving myelination issues. Salvia divinorum contains Salvinorin A, a substance that has the ability to remyelinate nerves in those with myelination disorders like multiple sclerosis. And it is a powerful anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving substance that works to release the underlying emotional trauma involved with pain and inflammation. If you’ve never heard of it, that’s because Big Pharma keeps the miracle of Salvinorin A in Salvia divinorum under wraps.
As a pain-killing herb, Salvia divinorum is thought-provoking to say the least. It works as a ligand through the kappa-opioid receptors rather than the mu-opioid receptors to do miraculous things like the remyelination of the nerves. It can be used to treat neuropathic or rheumatic pain, but it isn’t addictive. While it treats nerve tissues directly, it also works indirectly to heal nervous system tissues by improving digestive system health.
The kappa opioid receptors modulate the pain response in a complex manner. Sometimes the kappa opioid receptors produce pain while at other times they relieve it. These receptors play a major role in overcoming certain types of addiction by inhibiting the release of dopamine.
Salvia divinorum is particularly useful in treating pain that has been caused by emotional stress or dysphoria. Salvia divinorum has antidepressant qualities in addition to its ability to relieve pain and inflammation via its impact on the kappa opioid receptors.
It’s important to note here once again that the kappa opioid receptors can either produce pain or get rid of it. The psychoactive experience of taking a full-dose of Salvia divinorum often involves the experience of powerful forms of paradox that are relevant to the person taking the herb. As a patient passes through this experience of paradox from beginning to end they may at first experience dysphoria and a sense of strangeness followed by deep contemplation that can last for a couple of hours as the dysphoria releases, much the way an infection such as a cold or the flu might loosen its grip on the body over the course of time. After having a cold or the flu, we often feel a bit tired and contemplative for several days while our bodies complete the healing process to fully overcome the infection. Salvia divinorum may produce a detoxification reaction wherein negative emotional content and trauma is briefly amplified for eventual removal from the body.
Salvia divinorum for Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathic Pain
Chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain is a common issue for cancer patients who choose to treat cancer using the conventional model of medicine. Most doctors prescribe mu-opioid agonist drugs to patients with chemo-induced neuropathy, but these drugs have a high risk of abuse potential. In contrast, kappa-opioid-receptor agonists like the Salvinorin A found in Salvia divinorum, can reduce pain and inflammation in nerve tissues without the same risk of addiction as prescription opiates. Indeed, Salvinorin A has the ability to cure neuropathic pain through its weakening of neurochemical pathways provoked by certain emotional triggers.
Studies into Salvinorin A as a component of Salvia divinorum, have shown that its kappa-opioid-receptor agonist effects are extremely beneficial in the treatment of chemo-induced neuropathic pain. Additionally Salvia divinorum can help cancer patients get rid of the trauma that caused the disease in the first place. We often recommend both Salvia divinorum and Ayahuasca to our cancer clients.
Salvia divinorum for Diabetic Neuropathy
Salvia divinorum is a powerful anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medicine with psychoactive effects. It can be used to treat different types of neuropathy. In scientific studies of different types of pain, Salvia divinorum was able to reduce both neuropathic and inflammatory pain via the kappa opioid receptor so it has broad pain-relieving effects on the body through the kappa opioid receptors.
Studies have shown that Salvinorin A upregulates antioxidant effects while downregulating nervous system inflammation. This substance improves mitochondrial functioning and enhances energy production in nervous system tissues. Improving energy production in the nervous system means that the nerves have more energy to heal themselves. In scientific research, Salvinorin A not only heals the nervous system tissues, but also improves abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism in diabetes to protect against the root cause of diabetic neuropathy.
In a study examining sciatic nerve conduction changes with Salvinorin A exposure, the sciatic nerve conduction velocity was restored in diabetic patients with neuropathy and ultrastructural impairment of an injured sciatic nerve in diabetes was healed using this medicine. Indeed, Salvia divinorum heals the nerves in patients with myelination issues in diseases like multiple sclerosis as well. This is a plant medicine that is specifically beneficial for those with nervous system disorders.
Salvia divinorum for Trigeminal Neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia is a type of chronic pain that, like neuropathy, is caused by some kind of damage to the trigeminal nerve or its branches. The damage leads to dysfunctional pain pathways that cause disruptive forms of pain in the face and in the areas around the mouth.
The trigeminal nerve or cranial nerve V is implicated in a variety of mental health issues including depression, so when this nerve is producing pain or dysfunction, it suggests deeper, emotional issues. Indeed, modulation of the brain through trigeminal nerve stimulation through electrical stimulation is an emerging therapy for epilepsy, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD).
At the time of this writing, doctors typically prescribe carbamazepine or oxcabazepine for trigeminal neuralgia, but pain reduction using these drugs is usually less than 50% and side effects like vertigo, dizziness, seizures, nausea, hormone imbalance, liver toxicity, suicidal ideation, birth defects and more make these drug treatments undesirable.
In contrast to prevailing drug treatments, Salvia divinorum has pain-relieving and inflammation-reducing effects that have a positive impact on trigeminal pain without the horrible side effects. Studies have shown that the Salvinorum A in Salvia divinorum has a significant pain-reducing effect in trigeminal neuralgia without the side effects caused by conventional drug treatment. As with neuropathic pain, it’s possible that one of the mechanisms of action involved in the successful treatment of trigeminal neuralgia using Salvia divinorum involves re-myelination of nerves via stimulation of the kappa opioid receptors.
Salvia divinorum for Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease that involves demyelination of the nerves and inflammation of brain tissue. This nervous system disease causes a variety of different types of pain. Treating the pain is vital, but multiple sclerosis is a debilitating disorder that can be successfully managed with remyelination of tissues and, as it turns out, Salvia divinorum can remyelinate nerve tissues to heal multiple sclerosis while simultaneously reducing pain. Indeed, this may be one of the reasons why this herb has such powerful healing effects on the body.
Kappa opioid receptors have been identified by scientists as a target in pain therapy that promotes remyelination of the nervous system tissue in diseases like multiple sclerosis. Synthetic kappa opioid receptor agonists have, for the most part, yielded serious side effects, however. The synthetic kappa opioid receptor agonists are the drugs your doctor might prescribe should these drugs ever be FDA approved (unlikely as that would destroy the Multiple Sclerosis Industry). But Salvia divinorum and Salvinorin A have a much better safety profile than synthetic kappa opioid receptor agonists and ultimately, the synthetic kappa-opioid receptors that your doctor might prescribe are based on natural Salvinorin A found in Salvia divinorum.
In one study, scientists used the Salvinorin A analog known as Salvinorin B to study the remyelination of nervous system tissue in mice with multiple sclerosis. These studies showedn that Salvinorin B decreases immune cell infiltration while increasing myelin levels in the nervous system. Salvinorin B also led to an increase in oligodendrocytes, the number of myelinated axons, and the thickness of myelin in the corpus callosum. The scientists who studied Salvinorum B noted that targeting the kappa-opioid receptors are key to healing multiple sclerosis. Thus, the use of Salvinorum A as part of the whole herb Salvia divinorum, can act as a cure for multiple sclerosis.
Remyelination therapy restores function and normal cellular architecture in those with multiple sclerosis. The kappa opioid receptors in those with multiple sclerosis may be host to toxins or pathogens that have lodged themselves in these receptors, causing demyelination. This is similar to theories about why nicotine patches and Amanita muscaria therapy can be so life-changing, and health-promoting in some situations. If the kappa opioid receptors are overwhelmed by something toxic and they stop functioning properly, it might be necessary to work with a medicine like Salvia divinorum to dislodge toxins that cling to these receptors. By definition an “agonist” would be a substance that is particularly drawn to a designated receptor, in this case the kappa opioid receptor. The kappa opioid receptors may have a “detoxifying” function in the nervous system to express and release dysphoric states or certain types of trauma. By working with a medicine like Salvia divinorum, it might be possible to heal the nervous system over time and recover fully from multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating disorders.
A number of de-myelinating diseases and disorders may be treatable using Salvia divinorum including:
- Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis
- Neuromyelitis optica
- Guillain-Barre Syndrome
- Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease
- Balo concentric sclerosis
- Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
- Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
- Transverse myelitis
- Dysmyelinating disorders
- Central pontine myelinolysis
- Tropical spastic paraparesis
- Adrenomyeloneuropathy
- Cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy
- Leukodystrophy
- MOG antibody disease
- Optic neuritis
- Osmotic demyelination
- Schilder’s disease
Salvia divinorum for Stroke
Stroke victims experience blood starvation in brain tissues that can cause paralysis and numbness anywhere in the body. When certain brain tissues are cut off from the blood supply, symptoms like an inability to move or to speak can occur. Salvia divinorum contains the kappa opioid agonist known as Salvinorin A which reduces the volume of damage in the brains of stroke victims.
Salvinorin A decreases the number of pro-inflammatory factors in the brain after a stroke. By reducing brain inflammation, Salvinorin A, in turn reduces the amount of damage done to brain tissues after a stroke. It also preserved the integrity of the blood-brain barrier and reduced the extent of brain atrophy after a stroke. It helped protect against white matter injury to the brain and generally improved the neurofunctional outcome for animal models of ischemic stroke.
Salvia divinorum Dose
Salvia divinorum can be administered by smoking it, drinking it as a tea, or by chewing the leaves. It is generally administered ceremonially as pairs of leaves.
It is possible to microdose with Salvia divinorum, but we recommend that people also do full-trips with this herb if they have chronic pain or any kind of myelination disease.
Oral Route
Chew leaves in pairs. The juice produced from chewing the leaves in the mouth should not sbewallowed but kept in the mouth for about 15 minutes.The trip usually lasts less than 2 hours.
If you wish to microdose with Salvia divinorum, take less than 2 grams of dried leaves administered as leaf pairs. Make sure that you note your intention before you ingest these leaves.
A low, threshold dose of chewed fresh leaves is 10 grams or 2 grams of dried leaves administered with the leaves in pairs.
An average full-trip dose is 30 grams of fresh leaves or 6 grams of dried leaves.
A high dose is 50 grams of fresh leaves or 10 grams of dried leaves.
Smoking
You can smoke Salvia divinorum. A low, threshold dose would be 0.25 grams while an average dose would be 0.5 grams of the dried leaves. A high dose is about 0.75 grams of Salvia divinorum.
Infusion
Make an infusion with pairs of leaves. A low dose involves 20 pairs of dried or fresh leaves (40 leaves total). An average dose is somewhere between 20 to 60 pairs of leaves (40 to 120 leaves total). A high dose is 60 to 80 pairs of leaves (120 to 160 leaves total).
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Work with Salvia Divinorum
If you’d like more information about how we work with Salvia divinorum on-site at our facility, contact us at info@medicinassagradas.com. Or, if you’re interested in working with Salvia divinorum in your home country to overcome chronic pain or a nervous system disorder, contact us to set up a health coaching call. We’ll discuss a protocol for healing that incorporates the use of Salvia divinorum to overcome nervous system disorders and chronic pain permanently.
Resources:
Paton, K. F. et al. (2017). The analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of Salvinorum A analogue beta-tetrahydropyran Salvinorum B in mice. Retrieved September 24, 2025 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28158929/
Paton, K. F. et al. (2020). Evaluation of Biased and Balanced Salvinorum A Analogs in Preclinical Models of Pain. Retrieved September 24, 2025 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32792903/
Paton, K. F. et al. (2022). Sex Differences in Kappa Opioid Receptor Agonist Mediated Attenuation of Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathic Pain in Mice. Retrieved September 24, 2025 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35250563/
Quiñonez-Bastidas, G. N. et al. (2024). Emerging Psychotropic Drug for the Treatment of Trigeminal Pain: Salvinorin A. Retrieved September 24, 2025 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39770461/
Paton, K. F. et al. (2021). The Salvinorin Analogue, Ethoxymethyl Ether Salvinorin B, Promotes Remyelination in Preclinical Models of Multiple Sclerosis. Retrieved September 24, 2025 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34987466/
Misilimu, D. et al. (2021). Intranasal Salvinorin A Improves Long-term Neurological Function via Immunomodulation in a Mouse Ischemic Stroke Model. Retrieved September 24, 2025 from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9726789/
Mei, F. et al. (2016). Identification of the Kappa-Opioid Receptor as a Therapeutic Target for Oligodendrocyte Remyelination. Retrieved September 24, 2025 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27466337/
Ozkaya, O, et al. (2022). Kappa Opioid Receptor Agonists Show Promise as MS Remyelinating Therapy. Retrieved September 24, 2025 from https://www.rarediseaseadvisor.com/news/kappa-opioid-receptor-agonists-show-promise-as-ms-remyelinating-therapy/
Xu, C. et al. (2020). Neuroprotective Effect of Salvianolic Acid A against Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy through Modulation of Nrf2. Retrieved September 26, 2025 from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7063195/
Simón-Arceo, K. et al. (2017). Neuropathic and inflammatory antinociceptive effects and electrocortical changes produced by Salvia divinorum in rats. Retrieved September 26, 2025 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874117307420
Schrader, L. M. et al. (2011). Trigeminal nerve stimulation in major depressive disorder: first proof of concept in an open pilot trial. Retrieved September 28, 2025 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21820361/
Cook, I. A. et al. (2016). Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation for Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder. Retrieved September 28, 2025 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26818103/