Yes, exactly! This is the low tech alternative to cyclodextrin complexation.

Thomas Munro wrote a PhD thesis entitled "The chemistry of Salvia Divinorum" links here and here.

On page 49 he says that amorphous solids (as in crude extracts) have better solubility than crystalline material. In the text, 1a refers to salvinorin A

On page 50 he says, "Many instances have been reported of enhanced absorption of active compounds from a crude extract relative to the pure compound. For instance, some terpenoids are known to act as permeation enhancers, increasing trans-dermal absorption of co-administered drugs up to 90x". I think both you and Loveall have found the same thing.

Are you familiar with the expression "throw the baby out with the bath water"?  There are substances naturally present in the leaf that disperse and transports the salvinorin A across the mucous membrane. These substances are removed and discarded during purification. Purification is good if you want to smoke salvia, but bad if you want to absorb it sublingually.

I did not mean to derail the cyclodextrin thread. But it seemed to have reached an impasse. My reason for posting was to stimulate creative thinking in this area.