cardiac glycoside

The cardiac glycosides, substances that occur in the leaves of the foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and other plants, are the most important group of inotropic agents. Although they have been used for many purposes throughout history, the effectiveness of cardiac glycosides in heart disease was established in…

…of a group known as cardiac glycosides. Several antibiotics are glycosides (e.g., streptomycin). Saponins, widely distributed in plants, are glycosides that lower the surface tension of water; saponin solutions have been used as cleansing agents.

Many species of plants contain toxic (specifically, heart-arresting) steroids of the cardanolide type as glycosides (compounds that contain structural groups derived from sugars) of up to four sugar residues, which may include glucose,