Researchers at Northeastern University have identified a steroid-making process in foxglove plants that could lead to safer and more efficient production of the cardiac medication digoxin, according to news.northeastern.edu.
The study, published in Science Advances, focuses on how the toxic molecules in the foxglove plant are formed. The work was led by post-doctoral researcher Menglong Xu and chemistry professor Jing-Ke Weng.
Currently, producing digoxin is a highly inefficient process. It takes approximately 1,000 kilograms of dried foxglove leaves to produce just one kilogram of the drug, the outlet reported.
Because the medication requires constant cultivation of new plants, the supply chain is difficult to maintain. Additionally, the drug carries a high risk of toxicity if not administered within a very narrow therapeutic window, making its safety and efficacy a point of contention.
Evolutionary mimicry
The research team examined two species, Digitalis purpurea (common foxglove) and Digitalis lanata (woolly foxglove). They discovered that these seed plants follow a steroid-making process similar to that found in mammals, producing hormones like progesterone.
While these pathways appear similar, the researchers found that the plant's pathway developed independently from animals. This phenomenon, known as "cross-kingdom endocrine mimicry," occurs when organisms from different kingdoms evolve similar hormonal characteristics.
According to the report, these sex hormones served as "evolutionary stepping stones" that allowed the plants to adapt and develop their toxic defenses.
“Basically, these sex hormones were the evolutionary intermediates that eventually gave the leverage for certain plants to be toxic,” Weng said.
Beyond improving the manufacturing of digoxin, the researchers believe understanding these molecular formations could assist in developing new drugs to treat various other diseases.
