Convallaria majalis.  Lily of the valley, May lily, Muguet   Family Liliaceae       
Lily of the valley flowers are used in perfumery.
PART USED: Leaves, whole plant
TASTE: Sweet at first, then bitter ODOR: Pleasant TOXICITY: All parts of the plant are toxic, including the red berries which may be attractive to children.[4]
ACTIONS
GROUP: The Circulatory System- Herbs for the Heart and Arteries
1. Cardiac tonic.[3] Cardioactive- digitalis like action (Digitalis purpurea- Foxglove), but is less cumulative.
2 . Antispasmodic.
3. Diuretic.
INDICATIONS
1. Congestive heart failure,[1,2,3] with dropsy. Cardiac asthma.[1,2] Arrhythmias.[1,2] Valvular heart disorders. Edema of cardiac origin.
2. "Clears the mind and strengthens the memory"
3. Swellings
CONTRAINDICATIONS- When giving Lily of the valley check the patients dietary potassium intake, note the low dosage and dispense with particular care, excessive doses may cause vomiting and diarrhoea.
COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS:
Dried leaves  0.06-0.2 g.[1]
Infusion 0.06-0.2 in 1.2-4 ml water.
Fluid extract (BPC1934) 0.3-0.6 ml.[3] 1:1 in 25% alcohol  0.6-2 ml.[1,2]
Tincture (BPC1934) 0.3-1.2.[3] 1:8 in 60% alcohol 0.3-1.2 ml or 1:5 in 40% alcohol  0.5-1 ml.[1,2]
    
ORIGIN Europe, North America and Northern Asia.
DESCRIPTION Small herb. Leaves broadly lanceolate, up to 15 cm long and about 5 cm wide, parallel-veined with entire margins. Flower stem carries eight to twelve small, stalked, bell-shaped white flowers with six stamens. Rhizome; cylindrical, slender, internodes about 5 cm apart bearing numerous slender rootlets, pale brown.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Research
The usual form for use is the isolated glycoside convallatoxin.[1] Convallamaroside has antifungal and antibiotic activity but this effect is not therapeutically useful since it forms a complex in the body with cholesterol.[1]
References
[1] Martindale. The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 27th Ed. Pub. The Pharmaceutical Press (1977) UK
[2] Bleir, W. et al. (1965) Pharm. Acta Helv. 40, 554

Steroidal Glycosides from Convallaria majalis Whole Plants and Their Cytotoxic Activity.
Matsuo Y, et al.
Abstract
Phytochemical examination of Convallaria majalis (Liliaceae) whole plants yielded 15 steroidal glycosides (1-15), including nine new compounds (4-6, 10-15) with a lycotetrose unit. The structures of the new compounds were determined using two-dimensional Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses and chemical methods. The isolated compounds were evaluated for cytotoxicity against HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells, A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells, and HSC-4 and HSC-2 human oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines. Of these, (25S)-spirost-5-en-3ß-yl O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-2)-O-[ß-d-xylopyranosyl-(1-3)]-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-4)-ß-d-galactopyranoside (1) exhibited cytotoxic activity against HL-60, A549, HSC-4, and HSC-2 cells with IC50 values ranging from 0.96 to 3.15 µM. The corresponding furostanol glycoside of 1, (25S)-26-[(ß-d-glucopyranosyl)oxy]-22a-hydroxyfurost-5-en-3ß-yl O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-2)-O-[ß-d-xylopyranosyl-(1-3)]-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-4)-ß-d-galactopyranoside (8), was cytotoxic to the adherent cell lines of A549, HSC-4, and HSC-2 cells with IC50 values of 2.97, 11.04, and 8.25 µM, respectively. The spirostanol lycotetroside (1) caused necrotic cell death in A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Alternatively, the furostanol lycotetroside (8) induced apoptotic cell death in A549 cells in a time-dependent manner, as was evident by morphological observations and flow cytometry analyses.
PMID 29112119 PMCID PMC5713327
Int J Mol Sci. 2017. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Convallatoxin, the active cardiac glycoside of lily of the valley, minimally affects the ADVIA Centaur digoxin assay.
Dasgupta A, et al. J Clin Lab Anal. 2018.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Lily of the valley is a poisonous plant due to the presence of the cardiac glycoside convallatoxin which is known to interfere with serum digoxin measurement using the LOCI digoxin assay and other digoxin assays. We evaluated potential interference of convallatoxin as well as extract of lily of the valley with the ADVIA Centaur digoxin assay by comparing results obtained using the LOCI digoxin assay.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Aliquots of a drug-free serum pool and a digoxin serum pool were supplemented with nanograms to 1 µg quantities of convallatoxin or 1.0 and 2.5 µL of lily of the valley extract per milliliter of serum followed by measurement of digoxin concentrations using the LOCI and ADVIA Centaur digoxin assays.
RESULTS: Apparent digoxin concentrations were minimal using the ADVIA Centaur digoxin assay when aliquots of drug-free serum were supplemented with convallatoxin or extract of lily of the valley but apparent digoxin levels were very high using the LOCI digoxin assay. Moreover, minimal interference in serum digoxin measurement using the ADVIA Centaur digoxin assay was observed when aliquots of serum digoxin pool were further supplemented with lily of the valley extract. As expected, the LOCI digoxin assay showed significant interference of convallatoxin in serum digoxin measurement.
CONCLUSIONS: Significant interference of convallatoxin in serum digoxin measurement using the LOCI digoxin assay could be minimized using the ADVIA Centaur digoxin assay.
PMID 29855084 PMCID PMC6817247 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov