Three cardiac glycosides were screened for pharmacological effects on isolated rat jejunum. The contraction of rat jejunum with epoxyscillirosidin, a non-cumulative bufadienolide, and cotyledoside and tyledoside D, both cumulative neurotoxic bufadienolides were compared with methacholine. The results indicate that all three bufadienolides cause contraction of jejunal smooth muscle. When combine...

Cardiac glycosides are used clinically to increase contractile force in patients with cardiac disorders. Their mechanism of action is well established and involves inhibition of the plasma membrane Na/K-ATPase, leading to alterations in intracellular K and Ca levels. Here, we report that the cardiac glycosides oleandrin, ouabain, and digoxin induce apoptosis in androgen-independent human prosta...

Cardiac glycosides are used clinically to increase contractile force in patients with cardiac disorders. Their mechanism of action is well established and involves inhibition of the plasma membrane Na+/K+-ATPase, leading to alterations in intracellular K+ and Ca(2+) levels. Here, we report that the cardiac glycosides oleandrin, ouabain, and digoxin induce apoptosis in androgen-independent human...

One useful methodology that has been used to give insight into how chemically synthesized inhibitors bind to enzymes and the reasons underlying their potency is crystallographic studies of inhibitor-enzyme complexes. Presented here is the X-ray structural analysis of a representative family 20 exo-β-N-acetylhexosaminidase in complex with various known classes of inhibitor of these types of enzy...

Cardiac glycosides comprise a large family of naturally derived compounds, the core struc‐ tures of which contain a steroid nucleus with a five-membered lactone ring (cardenolides) or a six-membered lactone ring (bufadienolides) and sugar moieties [1]. A few widely recognized examples of cardiac glycosides are digoxin, digitoxin, ouabain, and oleandrin. The cardeno‐ lides digitoxin and digoxin,...

Introduction The importance of the cardiac glycosides in the treatment of a variety of heart diseases is firmly established and, although therapeutic problems remain, they are diminished by measurement of plasma levels of these drugs (Editorial, 1975). There has, however, been recent interest in the potential use of cardiac glycosides in neurological practice, including treatment of hydrocephal...