If vomiting is induced when the symptoms first appear, prognosis is good. Death may occur as quickly as 15 min. or not until after 8 hours. A native of Europe, this plant is widely cultivated in the U.S. as an ornamental. Foxglove has long been known and used as a source of the drug digitalis, a powerful cardiac stimulant. The active compounds are steroidal glycosides.
Most poisoning is a result of overdoses of the drug.
Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, severe headache, irregular heart beat and pulse, tremors, convulsions and death. The aglycone is the active ingredient. In therapeutic amount, the cardiac glycosides act directly on heart musculature to increase the force of contraction in systole, and on its vagus innervation to decrease the rate of beat. No steroid compounds synthesized approach the potency of the natural cardiac glycosides. A once popularly grown garden flower and locally escaped plant along RR tracks and roadsides, it is now unlawful to obtain, transport or grow this plant without federal license.