Digitalis lanata

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Digitalis lanata
Digitalis lanata 1.JPG
flowering in situ on the island of Thasos, Greece
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Digitalis
Species:
D. lanata
Binomial name
Digitalis lanata
Ehrh., 1792 [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Digitalis epiglottideaBrera ex Steud.
  • Digitalis eriostachya Besser ex Rchb.
  • Digitalis novaWinterl ex Lindl.
  • Digitalis orientalis Elmig.
  • Digitalis winterliRoth

Digitalis lanata, vernacularly often called woolly foxglove [3] or Grecian foxglove, [4] is a species of foxglove, a flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It gets its name due to the woolly indumentum of the leaves. D. lanata, like other foxglove species, is toxic in all parts of the plant. Symptoms of digitalis poisoning include nausea, vomiting, severe headache, dilated pupils, problems with eyesight, and convulsions at the worst level of toxicity. The plant is also harmful to other animals. [5] [6]

Contents

Description

Digitalis lanata is a biennial or perennial growing from a woody, horizontal rootstock. [7] There is a tidy rosette before the spike goes up, and it is neatly arranged around the purple-tinged stems. The plant commonly forms a single, upright, more or less uniformly leafy stem that is partly ascending at the base. [7] The plant send up these stems and flowers usually in its second year. [4] [5] The stems are 0.3 to 0.6 meters in height, or about 13 to 26 inches. [7]

The leaves are moderately green in colour, woolly, veined, and covered with white hairs on the underside. They have a very bitter taste. The lower cauline leaves are 6 to 12 cm (sometimes to 20 cm) long and 1.5 to 3.5 cm wide, the upper cauline leaves are 4 to 10 cm long and lanceolate shaped, usually with entire margins, and with a distinctive mid-rib. [7] The leaves along the stalks are alternate. [5] The lower stem leaves wither by early flowering. [7] Both flowers and stems are also woolly or hairy.[ citation needed ]

The inflorescence axis is densely covered with densely matted woolly hairs (tomentose), and the flowers are densely arranged into a raceme that is pyramidal in shape. [7] The flowers are tubular and bell shaped, pale yellow to whitish with brown or violet lines (ferruginous reticulated markings), [8] and the centre lobe of the lower lip is 8 to 13 mm long. [9]

The fruit is a conical capsule with a blunt end topped by a short beak. The seeds which develop within are quadrangular or prismatic in shape, and are about 0.6mm broad and 1.1 to 1.3mm long. [7]

Distribution

It is native to Anatolia and the Balkans, where it is found in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Thrace (European Turkey), Hungary, Serbia, Kosovo and Romania, [6] eastwards to northern Moldova. It has been introduced to Ukrainian Galicia, [6] [7] Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Germany. Its presence in Slovakia is questionable. [6]

In the US it has naturalised in a number of northeastern states. Although it has yet only spread to a few counties per state, it is still considered potentially invasive or a noxious weed. The state of Minnesota considers it a noxious weed, [5] [10] and it is an invasive species of grasslands and woodlands in Wisconsin, [11] and Kansas. As of 2001, it may not be imported into Kansas. [4] It has also naturalised in the US states of Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia. In Canada it has become naturalised in southern Ontario and Quebec. [2] Other areas where it might be naturalised are Vietnam and the western Himalayas. [2]

Taxonomy

The word lanatus means 'woolly'.

Ecology

In Minnesota it is in leaf all year, in flower in June and July, and the seeds ripen in early-mid September. [5] The flowers are perfect (having both male and female organs). Bees pollinate the flowers.[ citation needed ] In the Ukraine and Moldova it flowers in July and August. [7]

The species is adapted to sunny and warm sites.[ citation needed ] It prefers part shade and humus-rich soil, but also grows in sandy, [12] stony loamy, and clay soils under dry or moist conditions.[ citation needed ]

During the first vegetation period, only the leaf rosette is developed, flowering follows during the second vegetation period. Therefore, especially during the first year, there is a high resistance against drought stress.[ citation needed ] The leaves remain somewhat turgid even under very low leaf water potential, due to osmotic adaptation by synthesis of non-ionic substances in the leaves. The drought induced diminishing of photosynthesis is reversible after a few hours following watering of the plants. [13] Drought stress also reduces the quantum yield of photosystem 2. [14] More than 70 bitter glycosides with cardiac activity, with five different aglyconees digitoxigenin, gitoxigenin, digoxigenin, diginatigenin and gitaloxigenin in the leaves act as a protection against herbivores. [15] Yield and concentration of these cardiac glycosides are enhanced by greenhouse cultivation through enhanced temperature and enhanced carbon dioxide concentration. [16]

Uses

Medical

Digitalis lanata contains a powerful cardiac glycoside that may be used by patients with heart conditions. Digoxin (digitalin) is a drug that is extracted from D. lanata. [17] [18] It is used to treat some heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation and cardiac arrhythmias. [18] Its cardiotonic effects slows atrioventricular conduction so that the heartbeat slows down and slightly increases contraction power (positive inotropic effect). [19] Because of the improved circulation in congestive heart failure caused by fast atrial fibrillation, the kidneys can function better, which stimulates the flow of urine, which lowers the volume of the blood and lessens the load on the heart.

The medical uses of Digitalis glycosides in veterinary care has been controversial because of its relatively low therapeutic to toxicity profile, divergent physiological responses, variation in side effects, and the difficulty in demonstrating positive therapeutic responses. [19]

Cardiac glycosides from D. lanata and other natural sources have toxic effects, producing ventricular automaticity and vagal effects, resulting in AV nodal blocking. Acute toxicity produces nausea, vomiting, lethargy, confusion, and weakness. [20]

William Withering is credited as the first to clinically investigate the plant as a therapy for dropsy, writing a book in 1785 about the potential medical uses of D. purpurea extracts after his human trials. [21] [22]

Digitalin was not discovered until the mid-19th century by two French scientists Homolle Ouevenne and Theodore Ouevenne. It was not until 1875 that Oscar Schmiedberg identified digoxin in the plant. [23] It was first isolated in the 1930s in Britain by Sydney Smith. [24] Today it is still extracted from the plant because industrial synthesis is too expensive and difficult. [22] However, it is becoming less frequently used [21] due to the narrow therapeutic margin [19] and high potential for severe side effects. [20] Digoxin is being replaced by newer drugs [21] including beta blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and the calcium channel blocking agents. As new pharmacotherapeutic agents arise, the use of digitalis preparations is expected to continue to decline.[ citation needed ]

Asylums used digitalis extracts throughout the 19th century as sedatives along with hyoscine and opiates. [25]

The commercial production of digoxin from D. lanata involves growing the plant from seed for two years, harvesting and drying it in a silo, then the leaves are crushed into a powder, and the compound is extracted and purified using chemical processes. [26]

Other

Digoxigenin (DIG) is a steroid found in the flowers and leaves of Digitalis species, and is extracted from D. lanata. Digoxigenin can be used as a molecular probe to detect mRNA in situ and label DNA, RNA, and oligonucleotides. [27] It can easily be attached to nucleotides such as uridine by chemical modifications. DIG molecules are often linked to nucleotides; DIG-labelled uridine can then be incorporated into RNA via in vitro transcription. Once hybridisation occurs, RNA with the incorporated DIG-U can be detected with anti-DIG antibodies conjugated to alkaline phosphatase. To reveal the hybridised transcripts, a chromogen can be used which reacts with the alkaline phosphatase to produce a coloured precipitate.

Pictures

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiac glycoside</span> Class of organic compounds

Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Their beneficial medical uses are as treatments for congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias; however, their relative toxicity prevents them from being widely used. Most commonly found as secondary metabolites in several plants such as foxglove plants, these compounds nevertheless have a diverse range of biochemical effects regarding cardiac cell function and have also been suggested for use in cancer treatment.

<i>Digitalis</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae

Digitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and biennials, commonly called foxgloves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digoxin</span> Plant-derived medication

Digoxin, sold under the brand name Lanoxin among others, is a medication used to treat various heart conditions. Most frequently it is used for atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and heart failure. Digoxin is one of the oldest medications used in the field of cardiology. It works by increasing myocardial contractility, increasing stroke volume and blood pressure, reducing heart rate, and somewhat extending the time frame of the contraction. Digoxin is taken by mouth or by injection into a vein. Digoxin has a half life of approximately 36 hours given at average doses in patients with normal renal function. It is excreted mostly unchanged in the urine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digitoxin</span> Chemical compound

Digitoxin is a cardiac glycoside used for the treatment of heart failure and certain kinds of heart arrhythmia. It is a phytosteroid and is similar in structure and effects to digoxin, though the effects are longer-lasting. Unlike digoxin, which is eliminated from the body via the kidneys, it is eliminated via the liver, and so can be used in patients with poor or erratic kidney function. While several controlled trials have shown digoxin to be effective in a proportion of patients treated for heart failure, the evidence base for digitoxin is not as strong, although it is presumed to be similarly effective.

<i>Digitalis purpurea</i> Toxic flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae

Digitalis purpurea, the foxglove or common foxglove, is a toxic species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, native to and widespread throughout most of temperate Europe. It has also naturalised in parts of North America and some other temperate regions. The plant is a popular garden subject, with many cultivars available. It is the original source of the heart medicine digoxin. This biennial plant grows as a rosette of leaves in the first year after sowing, before flowering and then dying in the second year. It generally produces enough seeds, however, so that new plants will continue to grow in a garden setting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phytochemistry</span> Study of phytochemicals, which are chemicals derived from plants

Phytochemistry is the study of phytochemicals, which are chemicals derived from plants. Phytochemists strive to describe the structures of the large number of secondary metabolites found in plants, the functions of these compounds in human and plant biology, and the biosynthesis of these compounds. Plants synthesize phytochemicals for many reasons, including to protect themselves against insect attacks and plant diseases. The compounds found in plants are of many kinds, but most can be grouped into four major biosynthetic classes: alkaloids, phenylpropanoids, polyketides, and terpenoids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digoxigenin</span> Chemical compound

Digoxigenin (DIG) is a steroid found exclusively in the flowers and leaves of the plants Digitalis purpurea, Digitalis orientalis and Digitalis lanata (foxgloves), where it is attached to sugars, to form the glycosides.

k-Strophanthidin Chemical compound

k-Strophanthidin is a cardenolide found in species of the genus Strophanthus. It is the aglycone of k-strophanthin, an analogue of ouabain. k-strophanthin is found in the ripe seeds of Strophanthus kombé and in the lily Convallaria.

<i>Digitalis grandiflora</i> Species of foxglove

Digitalis grandiflora, the yellow foxglove, big-flowered foxglove, or large yellow foxglove, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Digitalis, family Plantaginaceae. It is native to southern Europe and Asia. In mountains it grows on warm, bushy slopes or areas left after logging. The Latin specific epithet grandiflora means “large flowered”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gitoformate</span> Chemical compound

Gitoformate is a cardiac glycoside, a type of drug that can be used in the treatment of congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia. Produced by Madaus, it is not available in the US, and does not seem to be available in Europe either.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deslanoside</span> Chemical compound

Deslanoside is a cardiac glycoside, a type of drug that can be used in the treatment of congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia. It is found in the leaves of Digitalis lanata, the Woolly Foxglove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanatoside C</span> Chemical compound

Lanatoside C is a cardiac glycoside, a type of drug that can be used in the treatment of congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia. Lanatoside C can be used orally or by the intravenous route. It is marketed in a number of countries and is also available in generic form. Its main indications are rapid response atrial fibrilation and paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, two common types of arrhythmia.

<i>Erysimum cheiranthoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Erysimum cheiranthoides, the treacle-mustard,wormseed wallflower, or wormseed mustard is a species of Erysimum native to most of central and northern Europe and northern and central Asia. Like other Erysimum species, E. cheiranthoides accumulates two major classes of defensive chemicals: glucosinolates and cardiac glycosides.

<i>Cascabela thevetia</i> Species of plant

Cascabela thevetia is a poisonous plant native throughout Mexico and in Central America, and cultivated widely as an ornamental. It is a relative of Nerium oleander, giving it a common name yellow oleander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digoxin toxicity</span> Medical condition

Digoxin toxicity, also known as digoxin poisoning, is a type of poisoning that occurs in people who take too much of the medication digoxin or eat plants such as foxglove that contain a similar substance. Symptoms are typically vague. They may include vomiting, loss of appetite, confusion, blurred vision, changes in color perception, and decreased energy. Potential complications include an irregular heartbeat, which can be either too fast or too slow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convallatoxin</span> Chemical compound

Convallatoxin is a glycoside extracted from Convallaria majalis.

<i>Digitalis thapsi</i> Species of foxglove

Digitalis thapsi, which has been called mullein foxglove in the US, is a flowering plant in the genus Digitalis that is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, where it occurs in eastern Portugal and central and western Spain. It is of commercial importance as an ornamental plant. Hybrids with D. purpurea have proved successful and are fertile.

<i>Digitalis ciliata</i> Species of plant

Digitalis ciliata, commonly called hairy foxglove is a member of the genus Digitalis. It has thimble-shaped, yellow to cream colored flowers produced on perennial plants with evergreen foliage. It is native to the Caucasus and is grown as an ornamental in other parts of the world. The species name is derived from the fine hairs that cover the plants stems and flowers.

<i>Digitalis obscura</i> Species of plant

Digitalis obscura, commonly called willow-leaved foxglove or dusty foxglove or spanish rusty foxglove, is a flowering plant native to regions in Spain and Morocco. It is also grown as an ornamental flower. This foxglove is a woody perennial plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. Along with the other foxgloves it used to be placed in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae; however, recent genetic research has moved the genus Digitalis to a larger family. It is similar to many of the foxglove species in its high toxicity and medicinal use as a source for the heart-regulating drug digoxin. Its strikingly distinctive amber- to copper-coloured flowers give the species its name and help distinguish it from other members of the genus.

<i>Digitalis minor</i> Species of plant

Digitalis minor is a species of flowering plant in family Plantaginaceae, which has been called dwarf Spanish foxglove. It is a biennial or short-lived perennial species of foxglove which is endemic to the Balearic islands with large, pendulous, pink or purple flowers. Closely related to the common purple foxglove, it is best distinguished by its small fruits. It is one of the only foxgloves to grow in calciferous, alkaline soils.

References

  1. ↑ "Digitalis lanata". International Plant Names Index . The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Digitalis lanata Ehrh". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  3. ↑ Elizabeth A. Dauncey; Sonny Larsson (6 March 2018). Plants That Kill: A Natural History of the World's Most Poisonous Plants. Princeton University Press. pp. 199–. ISBN   978-0-691-17876-9.
  4. 1 2 3 "Grecian Foxglove". Biological Control and Eradication Projects. Kansas Department of Agriculture. 2006. Archived from the original on 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Grecian foxglove (Digitalis lanata)". Terrestrial invasive species. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Marhold, Karol (2011). Greuter, Werner; von Raab-Straube, E. (eds.). "Details for: Digitalis lanata". Euro+Med Plantbase. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem . Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ivanina, L. I. (1997) [1955]. Schischkin, B. K.; Bobrov, E. G. (eds.). Flora of the U.S.S.R. Vol. 22. Translated by Bakaya, Kamal. Springfield, Va.: Israel Program for Scientific Translations. p. 461.
  8. ↑ John Sims (1821). Curtis's Botanical Magazine, Or, Flower-garden Displayed: In which the Most Ornamental Foreign Plants, Cultivated in the Open Ground, the Green-house, and the Stove, are Accurately Represented in Their Natural Colours ... pp. 271–.
  9. ↑ Ann Fowler Rhoads; Timothy A. Block (5 September 2007). The Plants of Pennsylvania: An Illustrated Manual. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 787. ISBN   978-0-8122-4003-0.
  10. ↑ Minnesota. Legislature. Senate (2002). Journal of the Senate. p. 6503.
  11. ↑ Invasiveness Ranking System for Non-native Plants of Alaska. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Alaska Region. 2008. pp. 2–.
  12. ↑ Ken Druse (14 April 2015). The New Shade Garden: Creating a Lush Oasis in the Age of Climate Change. Abrams. pp. 344–. ISBN   978-1-61312-604-2.
  13. ↑ Stuhlfauth, T; Sultemeyer, D. F; Weinz, S; Fock, H. P (1988). "Fluorescence Quenching and Gas Exchange in a Water Stressed C3 Plant, Digitalis lanata". Plant Physiology. 86 (1): 246–250. doi:10.1104/pp.86.1.246. PMC   1054462 . PMID   16665875.
  14. ↑ Fock, H.P.; Biehler, K.; Stuhlfauth, T. (1992). "Use and degradation of light energy in water-stressed Digitalis lanata". Photosynthetica. 27 (4): 571–7.
  15. ↑ Hildebert Wagner, Pharmazeutische Biologie, 2. Drogen und ihre Inhaltsstoffe, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart 1980
  16. ↑ Stuhlfauth, T; Fock, H. P (1990). "Effect of Whole Season CO2 Enrichment on the Cultivation of a Medicinal Plant, Digitalis lanata". Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science. 164 (3): 168–173. doi:10.1111/j.1439-037X.1990.tb00803.x.
  17. ↑ Hollman, A (1996). "Digoxin comes from Digitalis lanata". BMJ. 312 (7035): 912. doi:10.1136/bmj.312.7035.912. PMC   2350584 . PMID   8611904.
  18. 1 2 Peter Harris; Sue Nagy; Nicholas Vardaxis (22 August 2018). Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions - Revised 3rd Anz Edition. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 527–. ISBN   978-0-7295-8691-7.
  19. 1 2 3 Deborah Silverstein; Kate Hopper (13 February 2008). Small Animal Critical Care Medicine - E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 98–. ISBN   978-1-4160-6926-3.
  20. 1 2 Daniel M Lugassy (9 February 2014). Clinical Toxicology, An Issue of Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 88–. ISBN   978-0-323-26655-0.
  21. 1 2 3 Weisse, Allen B. (January 2010). "A Fond Farewell to the Foxglove? The Decline in the Use of Digitalis". Journal of Cardiac Failure. 16 (1): 45–48. doi: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2009.08.001 . PMID   20123317.
  22. 1 2 Kreis, Wolfgang (2017). "The Foxgloves (Digitalis) Revisited". Planta Medica. 83 (12–13): 962–976. doi: 10.1055/s-0043-111240 . PMID   28561136.
  23. ↑ G. Dragendorff (1884). Plant Analysis Qualitative & Quantitative. London: Bailliere, Tindall and Cox. p.  142.
  24. ↑ Sydney Smith III (1931). "Digitalis glucosides". Journal of the Chemical Society. 23 (3).
  25. ↑ Healy, David (2002). The Creation of Psychopharmacology. LONDON, ENGLAND: HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS. p. 43. ISBN   0-674-01599-1.
  26. ↑ "Foxglove plants produce heart medicine. Can science do it better?".
  27. ↑ Bernard R. Glick (4 May 2018). Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. CRC Press. pp. 183–. ISBN   978-1-351-09139-8.

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