Daigremontianin is a
bufadienolide. Bufadienolides are
steroids and
cardiac glycoside
Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Their beneficial medical uses are as treatments for c ...
aglycone An aglycone (aglycon or genin) is the compound remaining after the glycosyl group on a glycoside is replaced by a hydrogen atom. For example, the aglycone of a cardiac glycoside would be a steroid molecule.
Detection
A way to identify aglycone ...
s (meaning that they bind with
carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or m ...
s to form cardiac glycosides) that are similar to
cardenolide
A cardenolide is a type of steroid. Many plants contain derivatives, collectively known as cardenolides, including many in the form of cardenolide glycosides (cardenolides that contain structural groups derived from sugars). Cardenolide glycoside ...
s, differing only in the structure of the C-17 substituent on the D ring. This chemical has been found to be toxic in experiments on mice. It is one of five bufadienolides that have been isolated from ''
Kalanchoe daigremontiana
''Kalanchoe daigremontiana'', formerly known as ''Bryophyllum daigremontianum'' and commonly called mother of thousands, or Mexican hat plant, is a succulent plant native to Madagascar. Like other members of ''Bryophyllum'' (now included in th ...
''.
Toxicity
Crassulaceans are one of the prime sources of bufadienolide cardiac glycosides (including daigremontianin) responsible for an estimated 33% of cattle mortalities related to plant
poisoning in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. Crassulacean bufadienolides cause cardiac poisoning, but repeated small doses cause a condition called cotyledonosis,
an intoxication affecting
nervous and
muscular system
The muscular system is an organ system consisting of skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle. It permits movement of the body, maintains posture, and circulates blood throughout the body. The muscular systems in vertebrates are controlled through t ...
s of small animals, particularly, sheep in the
Karoo area of South Africa.
References
External links
Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility
{{Cardiac glycosides
Bufanolides
Diols
Aldehydes
Ketones