Problem
Galantamine is a cholinesterase-inhibiting compound used for the treatment of cognitive decline in mild to moderate cases of Alzheimer’s disease and other memory impairment disorders. Galantamine is a plant alkaloid found in the bulbs and flowers of several species including daffodils, snowdrops, and red spider lilies. Galantamine is currently prepared at industrial scale from plant material using classical organic solvent extraction methods. This extraction method is not environmentally responsible and does not fully extract all galantamine present in the plant material. Due to low quantity of galantamine in flowers, extracted galantamine is expensive. A better way to produce galantamine is needed to meet current therapeutic needs.
Solution
Microbial fermentation is a promising alternative to produce galantamine for therapeutic use. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have engineered a key enzyme in the galantamine biosynthetic pathway for improved stability, activity and specificity compared to the native enzyme. This engineered enzyme may be used in a semi-synthetic process to reliably produce galantamine more quickly and without the large land and water requirements currently required to farm plants producing galantamine.
