Foxglove woolly – digitalis woolly (growing and cultivation)

\rDescription . The plant is 5080 cm tall, the stem is single, erect, smooth in the lower part (not pubescent), and densely pubescent at the top (“woolly”), hence the name. The leaves are elongated, lanceolate, hairless, entire; the plate is light green on the underside of the leaf, green on the top; leaf length within 1015, width 25 cm. Flowers are sessile, collected in a short (up to 818 cm) dense raceme; they are much smaller than those of purple foxglove. When ripe, the box opens with difficulty. The seeds are four to five times larger than those of purple foxglove. The weight of 1000 seeds is 0.30.5 g.

\rbiological features. Foxglove woolly is more light-loving, winter-hardy and drought-resistant, but less powerful plant than purple foxglove.

\r\rHabitat . Grows in meadows, shrubs, on clay and limestone slopes of mountains and hills (Ivanina, 1955).

\rDistribution . It occurs in the wild on the Balkan Peninsula, with the exception of its northwestern part, and in the Danube region.

\rIn culture, woolly foxglove is cultivated in the Hungarian People’s Republic, Sweden and other states, in the USSR in Ukraine and the North Caucasus.

\rComposition of active substances. The leaves of digitalis woolly contain such cardiac glycosides: lanatosides A, B, C, D, E, digitoxin, gitoxin, digoxin. Of these individual glycosides, digilanide C, digoxin, and abicin are widely used in medicine.

\rDigilanide C causes a significant slowing of the heart rate, shortens systole and lengthens diastole. The great advantage of digilanide C in comparison with other cardiac glycosides lies in the speed of its action (Turova, 1967).

\rApplication. Preparations prepared from woolly foxglove are used for heart failure with circulatory disorders II and III degree, as well as products from purple foxglove. Their distinctive feature is a faster action on the heart. In a number of cases where digitalis purpurea products do not improve, they are effective. The advantage of these products is that they accumulate less in the body and are better tolerated.

\rAgrotechnics for the cultivation of woolly foxglove and purple foxglove are the same. Woolly foxglove is harvested when its leaves reach the standard size, i.e. length 1012 cm. The yield of woolly foxglove leaves is approximately 30% lower than that of purple foxglove.

\rquality requirements. In accordance with MRTU-21 No. 68262, the biological activity in 1 g of woolly foxglove leaves must be at least 100 ICE.

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