Use of galantamine in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and strategies to optimize its biosynthesis using the in vitro culture technique

• Published in: Plant cell, tissue and organ culture tissue and organ culture, 2020-10, Vol.143 (1), p.13-29
• Main Authors: Santos, Gabriella Sousa, Sinoti, Simone Batista Pires, de Almeida, Fabrício Tavares Cunha, Silveira, Dâmaris, Simeoni, Luiz Alberto, Gomes-Copeland, Kicia Karinne Pereira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkaloids; Alzheimer's disease; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biosynthesis; Biotechnology; Clinical trials; Commercialization; Cultivation; Cultivation techniques; Culture techniques; Galantamine; Growth regulators; Health services; Life expectancy; Life Sciences; Life span; Neurodegenerative diseases; Optimization; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant growth; Plant Pathology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plant tissues; Precursors; Review; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Stereochemistry; Tissue culture
• ISSN: 0167-6857; 1573-5044
• DOI: 10.1007/s11240-020-01911-5

Galantamine is an alkaloid in the Amaryllidaceae family widely used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Since its approval for clinical use in 2001, its effectiveness has been attested in numerous clinical trials. Due to the expressive and growing increase in Alzheimer's disease cases in the world, driven by the increase in life expectancy, the main risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, demand for galantamine is expected to be intensified, this aggravating factor has encouraged researchers to seek viable alternatives for the commercialization of galantamine on a larger scale. However, due to its complex stereochemistry, the organic synthesis of galantamine proved to be a challenging task, thus constituting plants as its main source of production. In this sense, biotechnological techniques have emerged as an alternative and a more efficient means, since plants biosynthesize galantamine and other alkaloids without difficulty. This review summarizes the results of studies on the tools currently available in plant tissue culture capable of optimizing galantamine production aiming at large scale production for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Results of galantamine biosynthesis optimization from the use of biotic and abiotic elicitors, plants growth regulators, phytoregulator and precursors agents or intermediate components, endorse the clinical importance of galantamine in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and the role of in vitro cultivation technique as an environmentally sustainable culture, are discussed. Key message Biotechnological strategies can optimize the biosynthesis of galantamine in vitro for treating Alzheimer’s disease, such as the use of elicitors, plant growth regulators, precursor agents, besides be a technique environmentally sustainable.