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More than just a beautiful bulb

University of Guelph Prof. Theo Blom, OMAFRA transition crop specialist Jim Todd, and University of Guelph Profs. Al Sullivan and Gopi Paliyath are hoping to create a local source for daffodil bulbs used in the production of Alzheimer's disease drugs.

While daffodils are well known for their beautiful flowers, it’s their bulbs that are of interest to a local pharmaceutical company.  Daffodil bulbs produce several chemicals that have the potential to be medically useful.  One such chemical is galanthamine, which can be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease.  Galanthamine is too complicated a molecule to artificially synthesize, and so must be isolated from natural sources such as daffodil bulbs.  Identification and development of these types of compounds could lead to a future need for large quantities of Ontario grown bulbs.

The University of Guelph and OMAFRA are hoping to create a local source for daffodils, which are currently imported from Holland. The initial field production research, sponsored by Ontario Research Development (ORD) program, is studying how the concentrations of various chemicals in the bulbs and overall bulb yield differs between 12 varieties of daffodils imported from Holland and grown in southern Ontario.  The hope is to identify varieties that not only grow well here, but also produce significant amounts of interesting chemicals. 

The research will also look into the possibility of using the processing plant waste for biofuels, thus offering another option for tobacco farmers who are looking for alternative crops.

Brent Ross, Communications Branch, 416-326-9342