What Is Ouabain Used for?

Ouabain, a cardiac glycoside similar to digitoxin, is used to treat congestive heart failure and supraventricular arrhythmias due to reentry mechanisms, and to control ventricular rate in the treatment of chronic atrial fibrillation.

What was ouabain originally used for?

Ouabain /wɑːˈbɑːɪn/ or /ˈwɑːbeɪn, ˈwæ-/ (from Somali waabaayo, "arrow poison" through French ouabaïo) also known as g-strophanthin, is a plant derived toxic substance that was traditionally used as an arrow poison in eastern Africa for both hunting and warfare.

What does ouabain do to a neuron?

Ouabain is well-known to prolong depolarization of neurons leading to osmolysis or calcium necrosis in brain tissues [8]. Upon ouabain binding, the Na, K-ATPase initiates a series of reactions that include interaction with neighboring proteins in what has been described as the Na, K-ATPase signal [9, 10].