| |  | | Salvia divinorum for AIDS?
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Aaron
Posted on: November 28, 2006
I’m working on a couple projects. One of which is studying the effects of Salvia divinorum on AIDS. It has been known not to cure AIDS but help control it. Do you know where I can get information on this subject?
I am not aware of any literature that suggests that Salvia divinorum has an effect on AIDS or on the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Salvia divinorum’s main psychoactive constituent, Salvinorin A, has a potentially important unique effect on opioid receptors. Some researchers have suggested that Salvinorin A could lead the way to the discovery of better pain killers. For more information see:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=12192085
Also are there any other herbs that have a similar effect on the AIDS virus if so what are they?
Over the years there have been many herbs that have been touted for AIDS. Chinese cucumber (Trichosanthes kirilowii) is one of the first; but there have been many more since. For a previous posting on this subject see:
http://www.richters.com/show.cgi?page=./QandA/Medicinal/20011219-3.html
Also I have a friend that would like to know some herbs he may be able to mix with tobacco that can add some flavour to it. His idea was mixing Berries and Cream Mint with tobacco. Would this work or cause more serious problems that normal flavoured tobacco? Are there any other herbs except peppermint that can be used?
I am not a smoker or an expert on tobacco so I don’t know what the "serious problems" are that you are referring to. Commercial flavoured tobacco likely involves a variety of compounds of questionable virtue, so flavourings using herbs instead may be a better choice. Flavourings from plant sources probably are best applied in the form of essential oils. Any essential oil from the mints are worth trying. The essential oil of the clary sage is used in commercial products, and that’s worth trying too. Beyond these well known examples, you could experiment with some of the many other essential oils that are available.
Of course the other option is to add dried herbs to the tobacco to create a blend. The mints are an option, but there are others. Some of the herbs worth looking at are ones that the first nations used for smoking. These are discussed in my previous posting:
http://www.richters.com/show.cgi?page=./QandA/Aromatic/19980727-1.html
A key thing to watch is not to add too much otherwise the blend will burn too hot.
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