ABSTRACT

Narcissus are well-known cultivated plants belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family. Tyler et al. (1988) classified them as poisonous plants, since ingestion of narcissus bulbs produces severe gastroenteritis and nervous symptoms. Narcissus plants contain similar alkaloids which can also be found in other members of the Amaryllidaceae. The Amaryllidaceae alkaloids have been shown to possess a wide spectrum of biological activities such as anticholinergic and analgesic (Harvey, 1995), antimalarial (Likhitwitayawuid et al., 1993), antiviral (Gabrielsen et al., 1992; Lewis, 1996) and anti-neoplastic (Jimenez et al., 1976; Ghosal et al., 1988; Pettit et al., 1990, 1993). However, galanthamine is so far the only Amaryllidaceae alkaloid that has gained a wide spread commercial application because of its inhibitory activity for acetylcholinesterase (AChE).