Analysis of selected Crinum species for galanthamine alkaloid: an anti-Alzheimer drug

Galanthamine, an isoquinoline alkaloid and the current drug of choice for treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer disease, is mainly obtained from Amaryllidaceae members. At present, the production of galanthamine from available natural plant sources is not sufficient to meet the demands of pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, overexploitation of the plant material leads to the depletion of available natural wild populations. Therefore, there is a need to explore additional natural sources for the extraction of this drug. Thus the aim of this study is to determine galanthamine content in five Indian Crinum species. The bulbs of each Crinum species were extracted with methanol. Extracts were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography. The chromatographic separation was performed using an isocratic system with a mobile phase of methanol : 5 mM (NH4)2HPO4 (55 : 45 v/v) applied at a flow rate 0.8 ml/min using a UV detector at 288 nm. Among all the Crinum species studied, the highest galanthamine content was found in the bulbs of C. malabaricum Lekhak & S.R. Yadav (0.308  0.004%), followed by C. viviparum (Lam.) R. Ansari & V.J. Nair (locality Ratnagiri; 0.262  0.042%). However, C. brachynema Herb. and C. pratense Herb. (locality Borbet) showed the lowest and equal galanthamine content (0.029  0.000%) in their bulbs. Galanthamine was not detected in the bulbs of C. latifolium L. This study identifies novel plant sources of galanthamine, which may be helpful for pharmaceutical production of galanthamine. The present study provides a quantitative comparison of galanthamine among Indian Crinum species.