Digitalis discovery

The narrow therapeutic range of digitalis related cardiotonic agents has resulted in an extensive effort to identify compounds in other structural classes which will improve cardiac function. The discovery of the heterocyclic cardiotonic drug, amrinone, led to research on other heterocyclic compounds for that indication. The imidazopyridine, isomazole (57), is representa-... 

Withering s discovery of the clinical use of digitalis was important, but it may well be that his contribution to the methodology of pharmacology and therapeutics was of even greater importance. His rejection of polypharmacy, his attention to pharmaceutical product quality and to the standardization of his remedy, and his development of the technique of dose-titration enabling a drug with the narrowest of therapeutic ratios to be used safely - were recorded in a way that seems as fresh today as it ever was. These aspects of his work, the careful and detailed nature of his clinical observations, and the aphoristic nature of his splendid Inferences continue to excite one s admiration today (see Mann, 1985). 

It was not until the late 18th and early 19th centuries that an analytical investigation of the active components of medicinal plants and herbal remedies was pursued. This resulted in the discovery of alkaloids such as atropine, morphine, codeine, and papaverine, which eventually became the major constituents of many modem analgesic and cardiac medicines. The discovery of aspirin (from Willow bark), the cannabinoids (from cannabis sct- ya), and digitalis (from foxglove leaf) also came many years, in some cases thousands of years, after these remedies were being used for pain relief, sedation, and dropsy (5-9). 

The cardiac glycosides are a group of plant materials arbitrarily so named because of their specific digitalis-like effect on the heart muscle. Their physiological activity is primarily dependent on the nature of the aglycon rather than on the carbohydrate component. For their discovery, we are indebted to studies of medicinal and poisonous plants, especially of... 

With Paracelsus in the 16th century came the input of innovation, creativity and investigation. Through him came the introduction into medicine of opium and the metals mercury, sulfur, antimony, and iron. The first medicines from the New World, cinchona and ipecac, were introduced into Europe in the early 17th century. In the 18th century came the introduction of digitalis therapy by Withering and the remarkable discovery of the value of vaccination by Jenner. 

Products and Uses A group of substances that occur naturally in fruits, grains, and vegetables. They are not required for body functioning as vitamins and minerals are. Recent research has shown them to be beneficial to the body as cancer and heart disease preventatives. Some that have been in use for years are quinine and digitalis. More recent discoveries include lycopene from tomatoes and the isoflavones from soybeans. 

Aronson JK (1984) Digitalis. In MJ Parnham, J Bruinveis (eds) Haemodynamics, hormones and inflammation. Discoveries in pharmacology Vol. 2, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 163-184... 

Yes, it s an example of a cardio-active or cardiotonic drug, in other words, a steroid which has the ability to exert a specific and powerful action on the cardiac muscle in animals. The term digitalis is used for drug preparations that contain cardiac glycosides, in particular digoxin. This works by increasing the intensity of the heart muscle contractions but diminishing the rate, and has been used in the treatment of heart conditions ever since its discovery in 1775. 

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