Plants of the Amaryllidaceae family are promising therapeutic tools for human diseases and have been used as alternative medicines. The specific secondary metabolites of this plant family, called Amaryllidaceae alkaloids (AA), have attracted considerable attention due to their interesting pharmacological activities. One of them, galantamine, is already used in the therapy of Alzheimer's disease as a long acting, selective, reversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase. One group of AA is the montanine-type, such as montanine, pancracine and others, which share a 5,11-methanomorphanthridine core. So far, only 14 montanine-type alkaloids have been isolated. Compared with other structural-types of AA, montanine-type alkaloids are predominantly present in plants in low concentrations, but some of them display promising biological properties, especially in vitro cytotoxic activity against different cancerous cell lines. The present review aims to summarize comprehensively the research that has been published on the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids of montanine-type.

• Keywords
• Amaryllidaceae, alkaloids, biological activity, derivatives, montanine, montanine-type, pancracine,
• MeSH
• Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids chemistry   isolation & purification   pharmacology   MeSH
• Amaryllidaceae chemistry   metabolism   MeSH
• Antiprotozoal Agents chemistry   isolation & purification   pharmacology   MeSH
• Cholinesterase Inhibitors chemistry   isolation & purification   pharmacology   MeSH
• Phenanthridines chemistry   isolation & purification   pharmacology   MeSH
• Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic chemistry   isolation & purification   pharmacology   MeSH
• Galantamine chemistry   isolation & purification   pharmacology   MeSH
• Heterocyclic Compounds, 4 or More Rings chemistry   isolation & purification   pharmacology   MeSH
• Inhibitory Concentration 50 MeSH
• Isoquinolines chemistry   isolation & purification   pharmacology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Cell Line, Tumor MeSH
• Nootropic Agents chemistry   isolation & purification   pharmacology   MeSH
• Plant Extracts chemistry   MeSH
• Secondary Metabolism MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids MeSH
• Antiprotozoal Agents MeSH
• Cholinesterase Inhibitors MeSH
• Phenanthridines MeSH
• Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic MeSH
• Galantamine MeSH
• hemanthamine MeSH Browser
• Heterocyclic Compounds, 4 or More Rings MeSH
• Isoquinolines MeSH
• montanine MeSH Browser
• Nootropic Agents MeSH
• pancracine MeSH Browser
• Plant Extracts MeSH

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.

• Keywords
• Alzheimer’s disease, Amaryllidaceae, Nerine, Nerine bowdenii, antitumor activity, folk medicine,
• MeSH
• Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids pharmacology   MeSH
• Amaryllidaceae chemistry   MeSH
• Cholinesterase Inhibitors pharmacology   MeSH
• Ethnobotany * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Plant Extracts pharmacology   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids MeSH
• Cholinesterase Inhibitors MeSH
• Plant Extracts MeSH