cardiac glycoside

or cardiac glucoside

noun

, Pharmacology.

1. any of a group of drugs used to stimulate the heart in cases of heart failure, obtained from a number of plants, as the foxglove, squill, or yellow oleander.

Example Sentences

When the flies with the gene developed into adults, their bodies carried low levels of cardiac glycoside, useful as a defense against predation.

From New York Times

Another critic suggested that it could be possible to find a drug that acts with the cardiac glycoside, enhancing its anticancer activity at safer doses.

From Nature