Cardenolide from Digitalis

Some of the most well-known cardenolides include digitoxin from Digitalis purpurea (foxglove), convallarin from Convallaria (lily-of-the-valley), ouabain from Strophanthus and Acocanthera, many digitoxin-like cardenolides from... 

During the course of the investigation71 to synthesize the hitherto unknown 2,6-dideoxy-D-arabino-hexose (76), Meyer and coworkers reported74 on its isolation from the hydrolyzate of a cardenolide obtained from Digitalis canariensis L. Taking precedent from the more recently pub-... 

Framm, J.J., Peterson, A., Thoeringer, C., Rangert, A., Homung, E., Feussner, 1., Luckner, M. and Lindemann, P. (2000) Cloning and functional expression in Escherichia coli of a cDNA encoding cardenolide 16-O-glucohydrolase from Digitalis lanata Ehrh. Plant Cell Physiol, 41,1293-8. 

Homberger, M., Boettigheimer, U., Hillier-Kaiser, A. and Kreis, W. (2000) Purification and characterisation of the cardenolide-specific p-glucohydrolase CGH It from Digitalis lanata leaves. Plant Phi/siol. Biochem., 38, 929-36. 

Schoninger, R., Lindemann, P, Grimm, R., Eckerskom, C. and Luckner, M. (1998) Purification of the cardenolide 16-O-glucohydrolase from Digitalis lanata EHRH. 

Sources of these drugs include white and purple foxglove Digitalis lanata and D purpurea) and numerous other temperate zone and tropical plants. Certain toads have skin glands capable of elaborating bufadienolides, which differ only slightly from the cardenolides. 

Gartner, D., Wendroth, S. and Seitz, H. (1990) A stereospecific enzyme of the putative biosynthetic pathway of cardenolides characterization of a progesterone 5p-reductase from leaves of Digitalis purpurea. FEBS Lett., 271, 239-42. 

---