Oleandrin (Ole)

Oleandrin is a toxic cardiac glycoside found in oleander (Nerium oleander L.). Oleandrin has been used for many years in China and Russia for its properties as a cardiac glycoside, for both suicidal and therapeutic purposes as in treatment of cardiac insufficiency. Oleandrin and its derivate oleandrigenin are formed in the N. oleander plant. The oleandrin itself can be won out of the leaves and other parts of the plant but can also be produced in the lab by using cell cultures. Here, the oleandrin synthesis (along with other metabolites) can be stimulated in untransformed plant cell cultures with supplementation of phytohormone. However, this is not enough to produce large quantities because of early cell death. Transgenic cultures of Agrobacteria are able to synthesize great quantities of oleandrin and other metabolites of the oleander plants, fit for pharmaceutical purposes.