The genus Digitalis L. containing species, commonly known as the "foxglove", is the main source of
cardenolides, which have various pharmacological properties effective against certain pathological conditions including
myocardial infarction, arterial
hypertension, cardiac dysfunction, angina, and
hypertrophy. Togehter with a prime effect of controlling the heart rhythm, many workers demonstrated that
lanatoside C and some other
cardiac glycosides are effective in several
cancer treatments such as prostate and breast
cancers. Due to
digoxigenin derivatives of
cardenolides, which are mainly used for medicinal purposes, such as
digoxigenin, D. lanata as a main source is of great interest for commercial scale production of
cardenolides in Europe.
Phytochemical studies on
cardenolides, naturally occurring plant secondary metabolites, have mainly focused on the species of the genus Digitalis L., as the members of this family have a high level and diverse content of
cardenolides. During the last few decades, plant tissue culture techniques have been optimised for many plant species including Digitalis, however, the production capacity of
cardenolides somehow failed to reach a commercially desired extent. In this review paper, the genus Digitalis is evaluated in terms of its main botanical and physiological features, traditional uses, molecular genetics and metabolomics, cellular mechanism of action, medicinal uses, clinical pharmacology, drug interactions,
therapy in the management of cardiovascular disorders, potential utility of
therapy in extracardiac conditions, and toxicity.