Plant sources of galanthamine: phytochemical and biotechnological aspects.

Galanthamine, an Amaryllidaceae type alkaloid, is an AChE inhibitor marketed as a hydrobromide salt for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, poliomyelitis and other neurological diseases. Although the chemical synthesis of galanthamine has been successfully performed, plants are the main source of its production. The phytochemical and biotechnological aspects of plants currently used for galanthamine production, namely Leucojum aestivum, Narcissus ssp. Ungernia victoris and Lycoris radiata, are summarized in the present paper