Reply To: Introduction to Herbal Medicine
Hello! I am currently working on the section of the course “What is a Plant?” and am curious to know more about glycosides. The text says that they can act as defensive agents, including “the very potent cardiac glycosides from lily of the valley and a category of glycosidic compounds called saponins.” What are saponins? Are glycosides always toxic/dangerous? Or do they ever have therapeutic purposes? Of all of the phytochemicals these certainly sounded the most ominous. Thank you!