Woolly Foxglove is a plant that most people first notice as an ornamental plant in gardens. However, it is also a medicinal plant, but caution is advised because it is poisonous and may only be used in prescription ready-to-use preparations or as a homeopathic medicine.
Occurrence and cultivation of the woolly foxglove
Woolly foxglove is a striking plant with its yellowish and trumpet-shaped flowers. It is native to Hungary and other southeastern European countries. The woolly foxglove is a showy plant with its yellowish and trumpet-shaped flowers. It is native to Hungary and other southeastern European countries and grows in forest clearings, clear-cuts and forest edges. Therefore, it prefers shady places, which are not too warm and have calcareous, but somewhat acidic soils. It likes to settle in mountainous landscapes. The biennial woolly foxglove forms leaf rosettes in the first year of growth, the leaves of which are pointed oval. Typical of foxglove plants are the slender stems, up to two meters tall, which sprout from the taproot in the second year. The leaves are small and alternate. The yellowish-light brown flowers hang from the side of the stem. The plant looks like a candle, the flowers form the shape of a foxglove, which led to its naming. The fact that the flowers always hang down to one side is due to the fact that they grow towards the sunny side. The flowers feel woolly, which has led to the name addition “woolly”. In sunny locations, the flowers always face south, forming a sort of compass. Woolly foxglove belongs to the plantain family (Plantaginaceae). Also known is the old ancestral name brownroot family (Scropholariaceae). The vernacular names are wood bell, wood bells, wood campion, our-love-woman’s-glove, and cinquefoil. The English name dead men’s timbles indicates the deadly effect of woolly foxglove: dead man’s foxglove.
Effect and application
The botanical names are Digitalis lanata, Digitalis lutea, and Digitalis purpurea. The name ingredient “digitalis” is familiar to many people from heart medications. Digitalis glycosides, heart activating glycosides, digitoxin, acetylcholine, gallic acid, choline, gitaloxigenin, inositol, mucilage and saponins act as ingredients. Being a poisonous medicinal plant, woolly foxglove is used only for its cardiotonic properties. For the other healing effects of the biennial plant, which are by no means undisputed, there are alternatives that are much less dangerous to use because they are not poisonous. Conventional medicine uses foxglove preparations in the well-known digitalis preparations. In its natural, unprocessed plant components and as a tea, tincture and herbal mixture, woolly foxglove is not used because it records a toxic effect under all circumstances. However, in the field of heart disease and as a component of digitalis preparations foxglove plants are very versatile. They have “positive inotorp” (heart-strengthening), negative chronotropic (slowed heart rate) and negative domotropic (delayed conduction of excitation of the heart) effects. This triple combination of effects makes woolly foxglove a suitable starting material for digitalis preparations that effectively treat heart failure. To achieve this optimal therapeutic outcome, all three modes of action are necessary. Digitalis drugs must be very carefully adjusted with their administration, because the triple action makes it easy to overdose, which under dramatic circumstances can be fatal. This caution is necessary because the digitalis active ingredients accumulate throughout the organism. Therefore, the physician and patient must review the dosage amount at regular intervals to determine whether it should be lowered or raised. The patient must follow the prescriptions exactly and not take too much, but also not too little, to achieve optimal therapeutic results. Homeopathy uses foxglove under the scientific name digitalis to treat heart failure. The potencies are D3 to D6. In this dilution, the active ingredient of digitalis is no longer toxic and it is safe to take. The homeopathic medicine digitalis is also used for shortness of breath, dropsy, headache, migraine, exhaustion, sleep disturbance and prostate problems.The typical leading symptoms of digitalis patients are fear of suffocation and feelings of anxiety when falling asleep and waking up. Nature offers a number of other plants that register similar effects to foxglove; they are called digitalis-like plants. These include monocarp, oleander, sea onion, Solomon’s seal, Christmas rose and lily of the valley (caution: also highly toxic). They release the active ingredients digitalis glycosides and digitaloids.
Health significance, treatment and prevention.
All types of foxglove plants are poisonous, so contact allergies such as rash may occur on contact. Nausea and headache are equally possible. The woolly foxglove and all other foxglove plants are protected and may not be collected. Because of the extremely toxic effect, self-medication is not recommended. Even with prescription digitalis preparations, symptoms of poisoning often occur because the therapeutic width is very small despite the triple effect. Therapeutic width refers to the dosage level and not the mode of action, so these two terms should not be confused by medical laypersons under any circumstances, as this confusion can result in disastrous consequences. In overdose, the plant’s own digitalis glycosides act to cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, visual disturbances, yellow vision, ringing in the ears, and digestive disturbances. Overdose of digitalis preparations leads to cardiac arrhythmias, slowed heart rate, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, blue lips, shortness of breath, and cardiac arrest. Underdosing also has life-threatening effects. Since digitalis drugs are supposed to regulate heart activity, not taking the drug as prescribed will have the effect of slowing the heart rate. The heart stops working properly and cardiac death can result from this under-dosing. The first aid measures for accidental plant ingestion or digitalis tablet overdose are the same: the patient’s stomach must be cleared of toxins immediately, ideally in the hospital by stomach pumping. Emergency measures at home before the arrival of the emergency physician may consist of present persons trying to make the patient vomit. They must then do everything they can to keep the poisoned person awake by moving him or her. Administration of medicated charcoal or strong coffee may also provide relief.
