noun
- A toxic steroid glycoside found in digitalis plants, used in biochemistry and medicine as a reagent and formerly as a cardiac stimulant.
Usage: technical; chemistry; pharmacology
Examples
- Digitonin is extracted from the seeds and leaves of digitalis plants.
- The compound digitonin has been used in laboratory research to study cell membranes.
- Digitonin acts as a detergent in biochemical experiments.
- Researchers use digitonin to selectively permeabilize cell membranes in vitro.
- The cardiac effects of digitonin are similar to those of other cardiac glycosides.