I think the reason for using alkali is to maintain stability. Toltrazuril has a triazone trione moiety in its structure. Many years ago I made triazone urea fertilizers. These were stable under alkaline conditions but hydrolyzed under acid conditions.

I believe adding ammonia will be detrimental to your process. The ester and lactone bonds in Salvinorin A will be targeted by ammonia.

Esters hydrolyze in water. Ester + water ⇌ carboxylic acid + alcohol. Any alkali will react with the carboxylic acid to form the salt. This effectively removes one of the products, and shifts the reaction towards the right (Le Chatelier's principle).