• Universitat de València

• Isabel Gavidia Sanchez

Cardenolides (digoxin, digitoxin, etc.) are drugs used in the treatment of heart failure. These products are obtained directly from different plants of the genus Digitalis, by extraction, as their synthesis in the laboratory is not cost-effective. Currently, different agronomic techniques are used for the development of these plants, however, there are no breeding methods in Digitalis plants that successfully induce increased cardenolide synthesis.

Researchers from the Universitat de València have described the sequence of a new gene present in certain plant species involved in the synthesis of cardenolides, such as plants of the Digitalis and Isoplexis genera, whose expression increases in response to biotic and/or abiotic stress. As a consequence of the increased expression of this gene, there is an increase in cardenolide synthesis in these plants.

The main application of the technology is in the field of pharmaceuticals and agronomy, to increase the yield in the synthesis of cardenolides from Digitalis and Isoplexis crops.

The main advantage of the invention is the increase in the production of cardenolides from modified plants of the genera Digitalis and Isoplexis, by using agronomic techniques that generate various types of stress in the plantation.

• Patent granted