Digitalis lanata that is extracted from "Digitalis lanata". It is used to treat some heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation. It slows atrioventricular conduction so that the heartbeat slows down and slightly increases contraction power (positive inotropic effect). Because of the improved circulation in congestive heart failure caused by fast atrial fibrillation, the kidneys can function better, which stimulates the flow of urine, which lowers the volume of the blood and lessens the load on the heart. This is the effect that was first described when the plant was discovered as a medicine (Withering 1785). Digitalin was not discovered until the mid-19th
Recreational drug use part of the milieu of drug taking. The reasons for drug use appear to have as much to do with needs for friendship, pleasure and status as they do with unhappiness or poverty. Becoming a drug taker, to many people, is a positive affirmation rather than a negative experience.” Anthropological research has suggested that humans "may have evolved to counter-exploit plant neurotoxins". The ability to use botanical chemicals to serve the function of endogenous neurotransmitters may have improved survival rates, conferring an evolutionary advantage. A typically restrictive prehistoric diet may have emphasised the apparent benefit of consuming psychoactive drugs, which