Plant derived glycoside Ouabain represents the active pharmaceutical ingredient of strophanthus gratus, a heart remedy from the homeopathic materia medica

Is strophanthus gratus closing a gap between homeopathic and pharmaceutical research? The relevant literature and publications from a database search as well as six years of clinical observation of patients treated with strophanthus have been evaluated.

Clinical observation shows marked differences depending on the selected potency. In high potencies strophanthus is giving relief to mental and emotional symptoms according to the symptoms of the drug proving, e.g. palpitations due to anxiety or exam nerves. In low potencies the remedy is working more focused on the cardiac conduction system and the physiological level of the heart. The mother tincture of strophanthus has been used for decades to treat heart diseases especially for patients with acute and chronic heart failure. The effects of strophanthus have been described in textbooks as 'oats for the starving heart'. Preliminary clinical trials, some of them conducted as randomized controlled trials, have shown positive outcomes.

In the last years, pharmaceutical research has revealed new insights into a possible mode of action of Ouabain in nanomolar doses. Ouabain enables its positive metabolic effects on the cardiomyocytes via signal cascades and modulates the autonomic nervous system. The hypothesis that Ouabain represents a prototypical example of a hormetic substance provides key insights to understanding its pharmacodynamic profile.

The findings on strophanthus gratus, a plant of the apocynaceae family, provide a model to link homeopathic and pharmaceutical research. Innovative approaches, how further clinical research may enable a renaissance of this forgotten heart remedy strophanthus should be considered.