Narcissus and Daffodil

416 J.R. Murray
given at a time between 4 a.m. and 3 p.m. of the time zone to be visited. To ‘reset
the clock’, galanthamine should be administered at least 8 hours prior to the
desired time of sleep. The authors believe such therapy could also be relevant to
shift workers (Davis, 1996).
CONCLUSIONS
The powers of the genus Narcissus can be seen to be many and varied. Each plant
should have its specific medical use, and clearly cognitive disorders and Alzheimer’s
Disease in particular must be the candidates for the daffodil. However,
various forms of sexual dysfunction that can lead to severe strain on otherwise
meaningful partnerships, and cause considerable distress to the sufferer, are not
uncommon and can also be addressed by the noble daffodil. Physiological erectile
impotence has been the subject of much recent research and has led to effective, if
presently expensive, therapies. However, the use of galanthamine for erectile
dysfunction due to physiological causes secondary to other disease states, disorders
of the urogenital or endocrine systems, due to drug therapy (e.g., anti-hypertensives,
anti-depressant and anti-psychotic drugs) or related to psychiatric problems, has
been advocated (Katz, 1993). In addition, the Japanese patent that advocates the
use of crude extracts of plants, such as Lamium album, Sesamum indicum and
Narcissus tazetta, together with a number of fatty acids and surfactants to improve
humectant properties, elasticity and smoothness of ageing skin would add to the
surmise that daffodils could provide means of addressing the failings of advancing
years (Taisho Pharm Co. Ltd., 1993). In any event, strong pharmacological
reasoning, if backed by effective clinical studies, could well mean that the Narcissus
genus will play an important role in medical and cosmetic practice well into the
new millennium.
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