Abstract
Galanthamine is a natural compound used for the treatment of Alhzeimer’s disease. Currently, it is extracted at industrial scale from Narcissus pseudonarcissus cv. Carlton, Lycoris radiata and Leucojum aestivum. Hippeastrum papilio is an ornamental plant which shows advantages in comparison to the currently used plants for galanthamine extraction. It is a plant without a period of dormancy with bulbs up to ca. 8 cm in diameter and leaves up to ca. 80 cm long. In the present study, H. papilio was successfully propagated in vitro on hormone-free MS medium supplemented with charcoal. Galanthamine content in the leaves of plants, cultivated for one growing season after ex vitro acclimation, was 0.54 ± 0.21% of the dry weight. The alkaloid fractions from leaves and bulb of a selected genotype were found to comprise 97.91% and 46.07% of galanthamine, respectively. At greenhouse conditions, the leaves, bulbs and roots comprise 39%, 38% and 23%, respectively, indicating that leaves and bulbs may equivalently contribute to the biomass of the plant. An effective propagation of selected genotypes together with adequate cultivation and biomass extraction techniques may introduce H. papilio as a new and competitive source for industrial production of galanthamine.
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