Narcissus and Daffodil

Sources of galanthamine 247
information on biomass accumulation and growth cycles, and the influence of
climatic and geographic parameters. High galanthamine levels were not always
accompanied by other desirable characteristics. Over 1100 specimens of wild
species and cultivars, both aerial and underground parts, were examined for
galanthamine content.
The best combination of characteristics (high galanthamine content and high
biomass production) was found in Ungernia victoris, natural areas of which are
presently exploited for the commercial production of galanthamine. However,
attempts to cultivate U. victoris, a species suited for growing on hillsides, met with
difficulties. U. victoris grows widely in the Gissar mountain range of Tajikistan. It
had an alkaloid level of 0.05–0.60% in bulbs and 0.05–0.15% in leaves. However,
the maximum accumulation of total alkaloids and galanthamine in the green parts
of the plant was found in the phase of early growth in spring, when leaf length did
not exceed 1–5 cm. Thus, the weight of green mass in wild plants was insufficient
for commercial exploitation (Abduazimov and Yunusov, 1960; Abdusamatov,
1972; Abdusamatov et al., 1963; Khamidkhodzhaev, 1967, 1977, 1982, 1984;
Cherkasov et al., 1984b).
Galanthus woronowii is characterised by a high content of galanthamine in the
majority of wild populations and cultivars with 0.10–0.9% in bulbs and 0.05–0.70%
in leaves. However, Galanthus species have no prospects for commercial culture, as
the plant has a low mass, is easily damaged during mechanical cultivation, and
does not adapt well to novel climatic conditions (Kovtun et al., 1978; Patudin et al.,
1978).
Leucojum vernum grows widely in the Karpaty region and Ukraine, while over
30 populations of L. aestivum are distributed in the Transcaucausian region. They
contain from trace amounts up to 0.15–0.18% of galanthamine in bulbs and leaves.
The leaves of L. aestivum populations (from Abkhazia) were found to be the most
potentially useful, as a source for drug production, because in some populations
there was 0.30% galanthamine in bulbs and 0.34% galanthamine in leaves
(Cherkasov, 1975; Cherkasov et al., 1984b; Gizba et al., 1982). The biology of seed
germination and seedling growth in L. aestivum has also been studied (Cherkasov,
1980). The dynamics of galanthamine accumulation in L. aestivum was studied
by Stefanov et al. (1974), and it was found that maximum concentrations of the
alkaloid occurred in the phase of bud formation. The natural area of growth and
supply of this species, used in Bulgaria for the production of galanthamine, has
been determined by Stojanov and Savchev (1964). An experimental study on the
introduction of Galanthus, Leucojum, Narcissus and Ungernia in the Moscow region
has been carried out by Kiselev et al. (1977).
Narcissus species and cultivars as prospective sources
for galanthamine production
Narcissus have been used for decoration since ancient times in Iran, Greece, Rome
and Egypt, and has been described in mythological sources. Its garden forms have
been systematically studied by the present authors for galanthamine content.
There are about 60 species of Narcissus growing widely in Europe and in the
Mediterranean region. In ‘The Flora of USSR’ (Komarov et al., 1935; Kuvaev and
Khamidkhodzhaev, 1989) about 20 species were described, and ‘The Classified