Alkaloid profiling in Galanthus gracilis Celak. from western Turkey by GC/MS

Abstract

Galanthus L. is generally acknowledged as a valuable biological source due to its Amaryllidaceae alkaloids with unusualchemical structures and a wide variety of biological activities. Among these alkaloids, galanthamine is the first example oftheir practical application in medicine as a potent and selective inhibitor of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, and alreadypresent on the market as a therapeutic agent for Alzheimer’s disease. Lycorine is the main Amaryllidaceae alkaloid deeplyinvestigated for its biological activity for many years. In this study the alkaloidal profile of G. gracilis collected from westernAegean (Alankıyı/Bayındır) will be illustrated for the first time. GC-MS profiling was carried out on the crude alkaloidalextract obtained from dried and powdered plant material. 11 alkaloids were detected by GC-MS, including graciline, demethylhomolycorineand tazettine as the major ones.