Faculty of Pharmacy

Cardiac
Glycosides
Pharmacognosy & Phytochemistry

Dr. Yousef Abusamra

 Cardiac Glycosides
 Therapeutically, this group of compounds may be considered
as one of the most important of all natural occurring products.
 Cardioactive glycosides are steroids having the ability to exert
specific powerful action on the cardiac muscle on injection into
man or animal.
 A very small amount can exert a beneficial stimulation on
diseased heart, but an excessive dose may cause death.
 Drugs containing these glycosides are used in medicine
primarily to increase the tone, excitability and the contractility of
the cardiac muscle.
 Secondarily, most of them exert a diuretic action, due
principally to the increased renal circulation.

 Cardiac glycosdies occurs in small amounts in the seeds,

leaves, stems, roots or barks of wide geographical distribution,
particularly of the Families:
1. Apocynaceae

2. Scrophularaceae
3. Liliaceae
4. Ranunculaceae

 A g l y c o n e : The aglycones of these cardioactive glycosides are

chemically related to bile acids and sterols and possess the
steroidal structure with the tetracyclic carbon skeleton which is
largely saturated,
 The steroidal carbon skeleton is overall composed of 17 carbon
atoms.
 The basic structure of the steroidal part is cyclopentano
perhydrorphenanthrene nucleus, to which a lactone ring is
attached.

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 2

 Phenanthrene

Lactone rings of the glycosides:

The lactone ring of these glycosides is either 5-membered ring
i.e cardenolide or 6-membered ring = bufadenolide, and these
are called either  lactone or  lactone.

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 3

  lactone (cardenolides)
 lactone (bufadenolides)

 Origin of termination  (gamma)  (delta): The lactone is a cyclic

ester which is formed from acid and alcohol:

R – C - OH + R- - OH  R - C - O-R-
|| || Formation of the lactone ring
O O from an acid and an alcohol.
 The lactone ring atoms are derived from the following acid
atoms:

C - C - C - C - C - OH
    ||
O
O

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 4

Stereochemistry of the steroidal structure of cardiac glycosides:

1. The asymmetric centers (chiral) of the structure are:

5, 10, 9, 8, 14, 13, 17, also if we have OH at 3, they will be 8

centers.

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 5

 1. 3  OH
2. 14  OH
3. 17 -unsaturated lactone ring.
4. Also, usually for maximum activity of cardiac glycoside
structure the rings must comply with CATSC rule, that is:
• Rings A & B are cis to each other.
• Rings C & D are cis.
• Rings B and C in trans.

{{

}}

• Biosynthesis of cardiac glycosides:

 From mevalonic acid:

3,3-dimethylally pyrophosphate (DMAPP) or its isomer

isopentenyl-pyrophosphate (IPP) which are the active forms are
formed from mevalonic acid which is the precursor of all
terpenes.
 The joining of isoprene units will end up in formation of cardiac
glycosides from cholesterol.

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 6



Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 7

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 8
D r u g s C o n t a i n i n g C a r d io a c t iv e G l y c o s id e s:
1. Digitalis:
 Several species of Digitalis yield physiologically active
principles.
 The most important of these are Digitalis purpurea
and D. lanata .
 Both species belong to the family Scrophulariaceae
.

D. lanata D. purpurea

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 9

 Carbon 12

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 10

Lanatoside C:
 Is one of the main constituents in Digitalis lanata.
 Its chemical structure is:
Digitoxigenin (aglycone)+2 digitoxose+acetyldigitoxose+β-D-
glucose.
Digitonin:
 The plant [Digitalis purpurea] also contains a steroidal
saponine glycoside called digitonin which is used for blood test
of cholesterol.
 Actions and uses of cardioactive glycosides:
 Mainly, they are used for congestive heart failure (CHF ), and
for different cardiac arrhythmias ( particularly, atrial fibrillation).
 Small doses of cardiac drugs slower heart beat, and increase
blood volume pumped through the heart, so the heart chambers
are filled more completely during the diastolic phase which now
lasts



longer.

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 11

 During the systolic phase the contraction is stronger, so heart
chambers empty more completely.
 Also, these glycosides cause more blood passing through
kidneys (more effective circulation), and thus are effective
diuretics.
 Digoxin: tablets, lanoxin® ampoules (manufacturer: Sandoz)
and syrup.

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 12

 Loading dose : is divided through the first 24 hrs and the patient
is monitored by taking blood samples.
 Maintenance dose: to maintain digitalis effect, the following
parameters should be considered:
1. Body weight.
2. Renal / hepatic function.
3. Electrolytes in the body.
4. Presence of other diseases.

Reasons of digitalis toxicity :

1. Admisnstration of larger
maintenance dose.
2. Too rapid digitalisation.
3. Presence of other drugs like:
amiodarone, verapamil,

……. quinidine, erythromycine.

4. Hypokalemia.
5. Hypercalcemia.
7. Hypomagnesia.
 Digitalis has a small therapeutic window

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 13

For the batches containing the same glycosides content,
differences in the proportions of the individual glycosides can
give differences in the pharmacological effect i.e.:
Digitoxin is more readily absorbed than gitoxin when given orally,
whereas the two glycosides are equilvalent when given
intravenously. Therefore, these differences in
pharmacokinetics should be regarded well.
Accordingly, (digitoxin > gitoxin) preparation is more effective
than (gitoxin> digitoxin) preparation.
Why digitalis leaf is not used very much nowadays :
1. The preparations of crude drugs vary in the content of CG.
2. Heavily contaminated by bacteria, therefore leaves should be
sterilized.
3. Contaminated with soil and dirt trapped by hairs on the leaves.

20

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 14

Digitoxin: 
The main secondary glycoside in Digitalis purpurea.
Its effect starts very slowly after an oral dose, and reaches its
maximum after 8-12 hours.
Also, its excretion is slow, therefore, the risk of overdose is very
high due to cumulation of the drug.
Due to the low safety margin, dose should be determined
individually.
To prevent overdose, drug should not be taken during 1-2 days a
week.
Signs of overdose: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain,
headache, drowsiness, fatigue, malaise,backache, visual
disturbances, convulsions, cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular
tachycardia.

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 15

2. Strophanthus:
 T h e c r u d e d r u g : the dry seeds of
Strophanthus kombe (Apocynaceae).

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 16

• Seeds contain:
 K-strophanthoside= [Strophanthidin (is the aglycone )+ cymarose
+ -D -Glucose + -D-glucose].

Cymarin = the aglycone

(strophanthidin) +
the sugar cymarose

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 17

• Strophanthus gratus: (Family: Apocynaceae).
 This species contains the cardioactive glycoside (Ouabain) or
G- strophanthin.
 The seeds are the part used of the plant, which was used as
arrow poison as it is extremely poisonous.

Ouabain = G- strophanthin.
Rhamnose

Strophanthus gratus (Family: Apcynaceae)

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 18

3. Squill:
 It is the dry fleshy inner scales of the bulb of the white variety
of:Urginea maritima (synonymous to Drimia maritima ) (Fam.
Liliaceae)

Drimia
indica
Drimia
maritima

 Commercially is known as: Mediterranean squill.

 Also, there is another variety which is known as the red variety
which is used as rat poisoning and it is Urgenia indica.
 It is known commercially as: Indian squill.

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 19

• The main active cardiac glycosides in D. maritima:
 Proscillaridin A: is bufadienolide (6-membered lactone ring).

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 20

Uses:
 Squill glycosides have 1. similar action to digitalis glycosides,
but they have a, more rapid action (rapid onset of action), but
less used.
 Also, they have 2. diuretic action and 3. expectorant.
 The r e d b u l b is used as rat poison and not as cardiac
glycoside.
 It kills rats only and not other animals. In fact other animals
refuse to take the poison and for most animals, if they ingest
some, they vomit it right away.
 Rats cannot vomit.
 Cats, dogs and pigs starve rather than eating food containing
squill.
 Red squill is 100-500 times more toxic to rats than is the white
variety.

{{ 4 . N e r i u m :
 Nerium oleander :

is an
evergreen shrub or small tree in
the dogbane family Apocynaceae, toxic in all its parts.
 It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium.
 It is most commonly known as oleander, from its superficial
resemblance to the unrelated olive Olea.
 it is extensively used as an ornamental plant in landscapes, in
parks, and along roadsides.
 Oleander has historically been considered a poisonous
plant because some of its compounds may exhibit toxicity,
especially to animals, when consumed in large amounts.
Among these compounds are oleandrin and oleandrigenin,
known as cardiac glycosides, which are known to have a
narrow therapeutic index and can be toxic when ingested.}}

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 21



Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry – Cardiac Glycosides Page 22