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

DOI : 10.26650/IstanbulJPharm.2018.422525 Galanthus L. is generally acknowledged as a valuable biological source due to its Amaryllidaceae alkaloids with unusual chemical structures and a wide variety of biological activities. Among these alkaloids, galanthamine is the first example of their practical application in medicine as a potent and selective inhibitor of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, and already present on the market as a therapeutic agent for Alzheimer’s disease. Lycorine is the main Amaryllidaceae alkaloid deeply investigated for its biological activity for many years. In this study the alkaloidal profile of G. gracilis collected from western Aegean (Alankiyi/Bayindir) will be illustrated for the first time. GC-MS profiling was carried out on the crude alkaloidal extract obtained from dried and powdered plant material. 11 alkaloids were detected by GC-MS, including graciline, demethylhomolycorine and tazettine as the major ones.