Nerine Herbert, family Amaryllidaceae, is a genus of about 30 species that are native to South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swatini (formerly known as Swaziland). Species of Nerine are autumn-flowering, perennial, bulbous plants, which inhabit areas with summer rainfall and cool, dry winters. Most Nerine species have been cultivated for their elegant flowers, presenting a source of innumerable horticultural hybrids. For many years, species of Nerine have been subjected to extensive phytochemical and pharmacological investigations, which resulted in either the isolation or identification of more than fifty Amaryllidaceae alkaloids belonging to different structural types. Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are frequently studied for their interesting biological properties, including antiviral, antibacterial, antitumor, antifungal, antimalarial, analgesic, cytotoxic, and cholinesterase inhibition activities. The present review aims to summarize comprehensively the research that has been reported on the phytochemistry and pharmacology of the genus Nerine.

ADINACO Research Group Department of Pharmaceutical Botany Faculty of Pharmacy Charles University Heyrovského 1203 500 05 Hradec Králové Czech Republic

Department of Pharmacognosy Faculty of Pharmacy Charles University Heyrovského 1203 500 05 Hradec Králové Czech Republic

School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences University of Portsmouth Portsmouth Hampshire P01 2DT UK

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Chemistry and Biological Activity of Alkaloids from the Genus Lycoris (Amaryllidaceae)