Amaryllidaceae occupies a prominent position among the most important alkaloid-rich plant families in globe. Plants of this family show an exceptional ability to produce myriad structurally diverse alkaloids with noteworthy pharmacological and therapeutic potential. Of these alkaloids, narciprimine is rare weakly basic phenanthridone alkaloid that was identified from some species belonging gene...

BACKGROUND Few drugs are currently licensed to treat influenza A infection, and new therapies are needed, especially for highly pathogenic strains. Traditional medicinal plants, such as Lycoris radiata, are a potential source of new antiviral agents. OBJECTIVE To test 15 Amaryllidaceae alkaloids isolated from the bulbs of L. radiata in vitro for antiviral activities against influenza virus ty...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the anticancer properties of five alkaloids isolated from Amaryllidaceae, including the inhibitory effect on P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and the apoptosis-inducing capacity. The tested alkaloids were evaluated for their multidrug resistance (MDR)-reversing activity on human MDR1-gene-transfected L5178 mouse lymphoma cells, using the rhodamine-123 (Rh-12...

Galanthamine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor marketed as a hydrobromide salt (Razadyne®, Reminyl®) for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), is obtained from Amaryllidaceae plants, especially those belonging to the genera Leucojum, Narcissus, Lycoris and Ungernia. The growing demand for galanthamine has prompted searches for new sources of this compound, as well as other bioactive alkal...

Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) is a multifunctional serine/threonine protein kinase that was originally identified as an enzyme involved in the control of glycogen metabolism. It plays a key role in diverse physiological processes including metabolism, the cell cycle, and gene expression by regulating a wide variety of well-known substances like glycogen synthase, tau-protein, and β-caten...

Twenty-one alkaloids and related compounds were found in Sternbergia colchiciflora (Amaryllidaceae), a hitherto not studied plant species. Twenty of them were detected by GC-MS in the crude extracts of this plant species. Ten alkaloids were isolated and their structures confirmed by NMR, MS and CD measurements. Many of the compounds found in this species, such as lycorine, tazettine, haemanthid...