Yellow Gold: Innovative systems for sustainable daffodil-derived galanthamine production in the uplands.

Galantamine is a pharmaceutical product that had been an approved Alzheimer’s Disease treatment since 1998. Galantamine can be synthesised chemically but it is a difficult and expensive process. Producing galantamine from galanthamine extracted from plants is more cost effective, but supplies are limited. Daffodils are an economically feasible plant source for cultivation in the UK, and growing daffodils in upland areas triggers a 50% higher yield of galanthamine. This proposal will deliver a new approach for producing galanthamine based on integrating daffodil growing into existing upland pasture. This will increase the economic sustainability of hill farming by providing farmers with a high value crop while maintaining traditional farming systems in the upland areas. The project will develop the required machinery, quantify the yield of galanthamine achievable, and assess the impact on sheep performance of incorporating daffodil production into grazed pastures.