Fields of daffodils crops growing in the heart of the Aberdeenshire in Scotland may soon yield a cost effective drug, galantamine, for use in the treatment of the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Galantamine is present in the leaves and bulbs of all species and varieties of daffodils and is considered to protect the plant from grazing animals and microbial infection3. However, galantamine is found at varying levels in different daffodil varieties with only certain varieties containing significant amounts to be useful on a commercial scale.
The UK is the world’s largest producer of daffodil and narcissus cut flowers. The business of growing daffodils adds around £23m/year to the country’s economy, while the UK also produces about half the world’s daffodil bulbs, with exports of 10,000 tons/year worth around £7m. There are about 4,200ha of commercial production, with maybe five times this area in gardens, parks and other landscaping uses.
Size: 4467px × 2978px
Location: Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Photo credit: © MediaWorldImages / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: aberdeen, aberdeenshire, agricultural, agriculture, attachment, attachments, business, commercial, county, crop, crops, cultivating, cultivation, cut, daffodils, daffs, equipment, exports, farm, farming, farmland, farms, field, fields, flowering, flowers, fly, foliage, fungicide, growing, horticulture, kinneff, landscape, machine, machinery, narcissus, plowing, preparation, rural, scotland, scottish, spray, spraying, spring, systemic, tilling, tool, tractor, wind, windy, yellow
