Narcissus and Daffodil: The Genus Narcissus (Medicinal and Aromatic Plants - Industrial Profiles, Volume 21)

449 Pages·2002·7.07 MB·English

by  Gordon R Hanks

Narcissus and Daffodil
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants – Industrial Profiles
Individual volumes in this series provide both industry and academia with in-depth coverage of one
major medicinal or aromatic plant of industrial importance.
Edited by Dr Roland Hardman
Volume 1
Valerian, edited by Peter J. Houghton
Volume 2
Perilla, edited by He-ci Yu, Kenichi Kosuna and Megumi Haga
Volume 3
Poppy, edited by Jenö Bernáth
Volume 4
Cannabis, edited by David T. Brown
Volume 5
Neem, edited by H.S. Puri
Volume 6
Ergot, edited by Vladimír Kren and Ladislav Cvak
Volume 7
Caraway, edited by Éva Németh
Volume 8
Saffron, edited by Moshe Negbi
Volume 9
Tea Tree, edited by Ian Southwell and Robert Lowe
Volume 10
Basil, edited by Raimo Hiltunen and Yvonne Holm
Volume 11
Fenugreek, edited by Georgios Petropoulos
Volume 12
Gingko biloba, edited by Teris A. Van Beek
Volume 13
Black Pepper, edited by P.N. Ravindran
Volume 14
Sage, edited by Spiridon E. Kintzios
Volume 15
Ginseng, edited by W.E. Court
Volume 16
Mistletoe, edited by Arndt Büssing
Volume 17
Tea, edited by Yong-su Zhen
Volume 18
Artemisia, edited by Colin W. Wright
Volume 19
Stevia, edited by A. Douglas Kinghorn
Volume 20
Vetiveria, edited by Massimo Maffei
Volume 21
Narcissus and Daffodil, edited by Gordon R. Hanks
Narcissus and Daffodil
The genus Narcissus
Edited by
Gordon R. Hanks
Horticulture Research International, Kirton, UK
London and New York
First published 2002
by Taylor & Francis
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Taylor & Francis Inc,
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Taylor & Francis is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2002 Taylor & Francis
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Printed and bound in Great Britain by
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the advice and information
in this book is true and accurate at the time of going to press. However,
neither the publisher nor the authors can accept any legal responsibility or
liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. In the case of drug
administration, any medical procedure or the use of technical equipment
mentioned within this book, you are strongly advised to consult the
manufacturer’s guidelines.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0–415–27344–7
Contents
Preface to the series vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
List of contributors xii
List of figures/plates xv
1 The biology of Narcissus 1
GORDON R. HANKS
2 The folklore of Narcissus 19
ANTHONY C. DWECK
3 Classification of the genus Narcissus 30
BRIAN MATHEW
4 Commercial production of Narcissus bulbs 53
GORDON R. HANKS
5 Economics of Narcissus bulb production 131
JAMES B. BRIGGS
6 Alkaloids of Narcissus 141
JAUME BASTIDA AND FRANCESC VILADOMAT
7 Production of galanthamine by Narcissus tissues in vitro 215
CARLES CODINA
8 Narcissus and other Amaryllidaceae as sources of galanthamine 242
O.A. CHERKASOV AND O.N. TOLKACHEV
9 Studies on galanthamine extraction from Narcissus and
other Amaryllidaceae 256
MIRKO KREH
vi Contents
10 Galanthamine production from Narcissus: agronomic
and related considerations 273
RITA M. MORAES
11 Extraction and quantitative analysis of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids 286
N.P. DHAMMIKA NANAYAKKARA AND JAIRO K. BASTOS
12 Synthesis of galanthamine and related compounds 304
V.N. BULAVKA AND O.N. TOLKACHEV
13 Compounds from the genus Narcissus:
pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and toxicology 332
DAVID BROWN
14 Galanthamine: clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease 355
DAVID BROWN
15 Screening of Amaryllidaceae for biological activities:
acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in Narcissus 369
KORNKANOK INGKANINAN, HUBERTUS IRTH AND ROB VERPOORTE
16 Narcissus lectins 380
ELS J.M. VAN DAMME AND WILLY J. PEUMANS
17 Narcissus in perfumery 392
CHRISTIAN REMY
18 Harmful effects due to Narcissus and its constituents 399
CELIA G. JULIAN AND PETER W. BOWERS
19 Review of pharmaceutical patents from the genus Narcissus 408
JAMES R. MURRAY
Index 419
Preface to the series
There is increasing interest in industry, academia and the health sciences in
medicinal and aromatic plants. In passing from plant production to the eventual
product used by the public, many sciences are involved. This series brings
together information which is currently scattered through an ever increasing
number of journals. Each volume gives an in-depth look at one plant genus, about
which an area specialist has assembled information ranging from the production
of the plant to market trends and quality control.
Many industries are involved such as forestry, agriculture, chemical, food, fla-
vour, beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and fragrance. The plant raw materials
are roots, rhizomes, bulbs, leaves, stems, barks, wood, flowers, fruits and seeds.
These yield gums, resins, essential (volatile) oils, fixed oils, waxes, juices, extracts
and spices for medicinal and aromatic purposes. All these commodities are traded
worldwide. A dealer’s market report for an item may say ‘Drought in the country
of origin has forced up prices’.
Natural products do not mean safe products and account of this has to be taken
by the above industries, which are subject to regulation. For example, a number
of plants which are approved for use in medicine must not be used in cosmetic
products.
The assessment of safe to use starts with the harvested plant material which has
to comply with an official monograph. This may require absence of, or prescribed
limits of, radioactive material, heavy metals, aflatoxin, pesticide residue, as well as
the required level of active principle. This analytical control is costly and tends to
exclude small batches of plant material. Large scale contracted mechanised
cultivation with designated seed or plantlets is now preferable.
Today, plant selection is not only for the yield of active principle, but for the
plant’s ability to overcome disease, climatic stress and the hazards caused by man-
kind. Such methods as in vitro fertilisation, meristem cultures, and somatic
embryogenesis are used. The transfer of sections of DNA is giving rise to contro-
versy in the case of some end-uses of the plant material.
Some suppliers of plant raw material are now able to certify that they are
supplying organically-farmed medicinal plants, herbs and spices. The European
Union directive (CVO/EU No 2092/91) details the specifications for the obligatory
quality controls to be carried out at all stages of production and processing of
organic products.
Fascinating plant folklore and ethnopharmacology leads to medicinal potential.
Examples are the muscle relaxants based on the arrow poison, curare, from
viii Preface to the series
species of Chondrodendron, and the antimalarials derived from species of Cinchona
and Artemisia. The methods of detection of pharmacological activity have become
increasingly reliable and specific, frequently involving enzymes in bioassays and
avoiding the use of laboratory animals. By using bioassay linked fractionation of
crude plant juices or extracts, compounds can be specifically targeted which, for
example, inhibit blood platelet aggregation, or have antitumour, or antiviral, or
any other required activity. With the assistance of robotic devices, all the members
of a genus may be readily screened. However, the plant material must be fully
authenticated by a specialist.
The medicinal traditions of ancient civilisations such as those of China and India
have a large armamentarium of plants in their pharmacopoeias which are used
throughout South East Asia. A similar situation exists in Africa and South America.
Thus, a very high percentage of the World’s population relies on medicinal and
aromatic plants for their medicine. Western medicine is also responding. Already
in Germany all medical practitioners have to pass an examination in phytotherapy
before being allowed to practise. It is noticeable that throughout Europe and
theUSA, medical, pharmacy and health related schools are increasingly offering
training in phytotherapy.
Multinational pharmaceutical companies have become less enamoured of the
single compound magic bullet cure. The high costs of such ventures and the end-
less competition from “me too” compounds from rival companies often discourage
the attempt. Independent phytomedicine companies have been very strong in
Germany. However, by the end of 1995, eleven (almost all) had been acquired by
the multinational pharmaceutical firms, acknowledging the lay public’s growing
demand for phytomedicines in the Western World.
The business of dietary supplement in the Western World has expanded from
the health store to the pharmacy. Alternative medicine includes plant based prod-
ucts. Appropriate measures to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of these
either already exist or are being answered by greater legislative control by such
bodies as the Food and Drug Administration of the USA and the recently created
European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products, based in London.
In the USA, the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994 recog-
nised the class of phytotherapeutic agents derived from medicinal and aromatic
plants. Furthermore, under public pressure, the US Congress set up an Office of
Alternative Medicine and this office in 1994 assisted the filing of several Investiga-
tional New Drug (IND) applications, required for clinical trials of some Chinese
herbal preparations. The significance of these applications was that each Chinese
preparation involved several plants and yet was handled as a single IND. A
demonstration of the contribution to efficacy, of each ingredient of each plant, was
not required. This was a major step forward towards more sensible regulations in
regard to phytomedicines.
My thanks are due to the staff of the Publishers who have made this series
possible and especially to the volume editors and their chapter contributors for the
authoritative information.
Roland Hardman
Preface
My interest in flower-bulb crops started in 1973, when I began working with
DrAlun Rees at the Glasshouse Crops Research Institute, Littlehampton, a site con-
signed to horticultural history in 1995 as a result of the all-too-familiar ‘cuts in govern-
ment funding’. Alun had himself taken up a post at Littlehampton in 1962, when
the (then) Agricultural Research Council started funding research on ornamental
bulb crops. Alun succeeded in putting bulb growing and forcing on a sound scientific
base, evidenced by the publication of his The Growth of Bulbs in 1972.1 Fortunately
for me, Alun’s enthusiasm for these interesting crops was infectious.
Whilst my main research interests concerned the early forcing of bulbs, the use
of plant growth regulators, narcissus propagation and other aspects relevant to
the UK bulbs industry, uses of bulbs other than as ornamentals attracted my
attention from time to time. For instance, one was aware of the eastern European
literature, long ignored in the west, on pharmaceuticals such as galanthamine
(galantamine) from Galanthus (snowdrops) and other genera. Only in 1995 did the
growing of narcissus bulbs in the UK for processing for galanthamine extraction,
and the clinical trials on the use of the compound in Alzheimer’s disease, become
public knowledge.2 Whilst there is a wealth both of other alkaloids in narcissus,
and of other potential uses of galanthamine, this case in particular led to the con-
ception of the present volume. Reminyl, Shire Pharmaceuticals and Janssen-Cilag’s
Alzheimer’s disease treatment derived from narcissus, received its first European
approval in 2000.3,4 Subsequently, Reminyl was recommended by the National
Centre for Clinical Excellence.5
The impact of Alzheimer’s disease was first brought home to me by examples of
public figures. For example, there was ex-President Ronald Reagan’s touching
letter to the American people, relating the start of the ‘journey that would lead
him into the sunset of his life’.6 Earlier, in the UK, Prime Minister Harold Wilson
had unexpectedly retired from public life, and the cases of these two statesmen
1 Rees, A.R. (1972) The Growth of Bulbs. Academic Press, London.
2 Bonner, J. (1995) Flower bulbs slow brain disease. New Scientist, 145 (1964), 21.
3 Reminyl approval lifts Shire price, The Times, 4 March 2000.
4 New Alzheimer’s drug approved. The Pharmaceutical Journal, 265 (22 July 2000), 122.
5 Press release 2001/002, NICE issues guidance on drugs for Alzheimer’s disease, 19 January 2001, NICE.
6 Letter from Ronald Reagan revealing Alzheimer’s disease, for example, see http://www.law.umkc.edu/
faculty/projects/ttrials/hinckley/ALZHEI~1.htm