A brief review on medicinal Digitalis L. species grown in the ʺAlexandru Ciubotaruʺ National Botanical Garden (Institute)

Abstract

The paper presents a brief review on the medicinal importance and possibilities of capitalization of Digitalis L. taxa (D. ciliata Trautv., D. ferruginea L., D. grandifl ora Mill., D. laevigata Waldst. ex Kit., D. lanata Ehrh., D. lutea L., D. lutea subsp. australis (Ten.) Arcang., D. purpurea L., D. purpurea var. albifl ora Lej.) intro duced in the Natio nal Botanical Garden (Institute) “Al. Ciubotaru”. The main morphological characteristics of the plants are described, the bioactive components and medicinal properties are summarized. The notable presence of cardioactive glycosides in the species D. lanata and D. purpurea make them the most important drugs in the treatment of congestive heart failure. The review also indicate the therapeutic potential of other Digitalis L. species which point the way to conduct further studies in order to establish and explore their medicinal value.