GalanCEAmine: Sustainable Galanthamine Production from Daffodils Using Controlled Environment Agriculture

Galanthamine is a key treatment for Alzheimer's Disease, the leading cause of dementia and a leading cause of death in the UK. Daffodils are the principal natural source of galanthamine, but their production is constrained by a long production cycle, seasonality, and exposure to weather and crop disease related losses. Galanthamine production is heavily influenced by environmental conditions, leading to inconsistent yield. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) provides the opportunity to optimise conditions for plant growth and galanthamine production, in a disease-free environment, accelerating production and creating a reliable, consistent and sustainable supply. Green chemistry extraction processes will minimise environmentally polluting inputs, energy use and waste. The project will develop optimised CEA 'recipes' (lighting, plant nutrition and environmental parameters) for daffodil bulbs cultivation and year-round supply of natural galanthamine. Green chemistry processes using renewable and biodegradable solvents and eco-friendly extraction methods and their scalability will be explored and optimised to minimise environmental footprint. Sustainability will be measured using robust, recognised Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) methodology. The project supports development of sustainable supply chains for a key drug with increasing demand from an ageing population.