Lady’s Glove
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Foxglove is one of the few herbs used in pharmaceutical manufacture today; the digitalis glycosides commonly used to treat congestive heart failure or atrial fibrillation are difficult to synthesize, so are easier to derive directly from foxglove. Digitoxin can be obtained from either D. purpurea or D. lanata; digoxin is present only in the leaves of D. lanata, the species most commonly used in pharmaceutical manufacture(Fugh-Berman 2003).
Digitalis glycosides inhibit sodium-potassium ATPase, increasing intracellular sodium and stimulating sodium calcium exchange. The net effect is a positive inotropic effect (an increase in the force of systolic contractions) and a vagomimetic effect, which slows the heart rate (Fugh-Berman 2003).
Overdoses of digitalis alkaloids can cause vomiting, diarrhea, bradycardia, atrioventricular heart block, confusion, and visual disturbances (Fugh-Berman 2003). Foxglove has caused serious poisonings, and anti-digoxin Fab fragments are not particularly effective in treating foxglove poisoning. Most cases of toxicity have been caused by wild-food gatherers mistaking the plant for comfrey (Porter 1999, Colls 1999, Bain 1985).