Digitalis purpurea In other words, at precisely the right dosage, "Digitalis" toxin can cause the heart to beat more strongly. However, digitoxin, digoxin and several other cardiac glycosides, such as ouabain, are known to have steep dose-response curves, i.e., minute increases in the dosage of these drugs can make the difference between an ineffective dose and a fatal one. Symptoms of "Digitalis" poisoning include a low pulse rate, nausea, vomiting, and uncoordinated contractions of different parts of the heart, leading to cardiac arrest and finally death. The plant is popular as a garden subject, and numerous cultivars have been developed with a
Orazio Comes experimentation in that sector. In 1958 the museum of the botanical institute of Portici, hosted in the Royal Palace, was named after him. Orazio Comes Orazio Comes (11 November 1848 – 13 October 1917) was an Italian botanist. From 1906 to 1917 he directed the Agricultural Higher Institute of Portici, in which, thanks to Vincenzo de Cesati, he begun teaching since 1877 as assistant of Nicola Pedicino for the chair of botany, to whom he succeeded in 1880. In his works he studied the physiology and plant pathology of Neapolitan mushrooms and agricultural plants, such as beans and tobacco. From