1. Plural of ouabain; cardiac glycosides derived from African plants, used in medicine to strengthen heart contractions and treat certain heart conditions.
Usage: technical/medical; pharmacology term; also called cardiac glycosides

Examples

• Ouabains are extracted from the seeds of African plants in the Apocynaceae family.
• The doctor prescribed ouabains to help regulate the patient's irregular heartbeat.
• Researchers studied how ouabains affect sodium-potassium pump activity in cardiac cells.
• Ouabains have been used in traditional African medicine for centuries before modern pharmaceutical applications.
• The pharmacist explained that ouabains work by increasing the force of heart contractions.