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This is an imported and 100% natural extract of
Galantamine hydrobromide from Lycoris
radiata.
We
market this
natural extract (high purity) for the pharmaceutical
industry, the research institutes and for the
nutrition product industry (low purity).
Galantamine hydrobromide, a reversible,
competitive acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. Galantamine
hydrobromide is known chemically as(4aS,6R,8aS)-4a,5,9,10,11,12-hexahydro-3-methoxy-11-methyl-6H-benzofuro[3a,3,2-ef][2]benzazepin-6-ol
hydrobromide. It has an empirical formula of C17H21NO3•HBr
and a molecular weight of 368.27. Galantamine
hydrobromide is a white to almost white powder and is
sparingly soluble in water. The structural formula for
galantamine hydrobromide is:
Mechanism of Action
Although the etiology of cognitive
impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not fully
understood, it has been reported that acetylcholine-producing
neurons degenerate in the brains of patients with
Alzheimer's disease. The degree of this cholinergic loss
has been correlated with degree of cognitive impairment
and density of amyloid plaques (a neuropathological
hallmark of Alzheimer's disease).
Galantamine, a tertiary alkaloid, is a competitive
and reversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase. While
the precise mechanism of galantamine's action is
unknown, it is postulated to exert its therapeutic
effect by enhancing cholinergic function. This is
accomplished by increasing the concentration of
acetylcholine through reversible inhibition of its
hydrolysis by cholinesterase. If this mechanism is
correct, galantamine's effect may lessen as the disease
process advances and fewer cholinergic neurons remain
functionally intact. There is no evidence that
galantamine alters the course of the underlying
dementing process.
A
Surprise Discovery
In
the early 1990’s Janssen pharmaceuticals (in
conjunction with Johnson and Johnson) sought a drug to
improve the cognitive ability of Alzheimer’s patients.
They had heard of the claims that an extract from the
common snowdrop plant had long been used for improving
memory in eastern European herbal lore. They
successfully created a synthetic version of this extract
and proved in experiments for the Food and Drug
Administration that indeed the extract known as
galantamine improved the memory of those ravaged by the
disease (US
Patent No. 4,663,318).
In their studies they also noted an odd “side
effect,” namely that those in the study reported
significantly more dreams and enhanced dream recall.
This
“side effect” excited dream researchers who further
studied the natural plant extract and found that indeed
several plants including the red spider lily and the
common snowdrop had the effect of lengthening dreams,
making them more vivid and easier to recall in the
morning. Those taking galantamine at bedtime reported
more dreams and described themselves as being “totally
engrossed in a movie or fiction where on one level you
really feel as if you are there and on another level
realizing you dream.” A particularly interesting
effect is that someone can wake up from a galantamine
dream in the middle of the night and choose to go back
to sleep and reenter the same dreamscape again.
The commercial names of synthetic Galantamine
hydrobromide are:
RAZADYNEtm ER
Extended-Release Capsules and RAZADYNEtm
Tablets are manufactured by:
JOLLC, Gurabo, Puerto Rico or
Janssen-Cilag SpA Latina, Italy
RAZADYNEtm Oral Solution is
manufactured by:
Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V.
Beerse, Belgium
RAZADYNEtm ER
Extended-Release Capsules and RAZADYNEtm
Tablets and Oral Solution are distributed by:
Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Inc.
Titusville, NJ 08560
