Red spider lily

The alkaloid galanthamine (169) has been obtained from various Amaryllidaceae species including daffodils, the red spider lily Lycoris radiata) and the Caucasian snowdrop (Galanthus woronowii). Its effectiveness as a centrally acting, selective, reversible and competitive inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase has resulted in galanthamine being introduced into the clinic in both the USA and Europe for the symptomatic treatment of mild to moderate forms of Alzheimer s disease [57]. These and various other intriguing feamres of this alkaloid have prompted extensive synthetic studies of it [57]. 

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