Description
Galantamine is an alkaloid originally found in species of Galanthus, Narcissus, Leucojum, and Lycoris; it exhibits neuroprotective and cognition enhancing activities. Galantamine inhibits acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and acts as an allosteric agonist on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs); it is somewhat selective for α7 nAChRs. Galantamine is clinically used to improve cognitive deficits in subjects with Alzheimer’s disease. Galantamine is neuroprotective and promotes neurogenesis in an IGF-2-dependent manner. Galantamine may also inhibit P2X7 receptors, increasing Bcl-2 expression and inhibiting apoptosis.
References
Kita Y, Ago Y, Higashino K, et al. Galantamine promotes adult hippocampal neurogenesis via M1 muscarinic and α7 nicotinic receptors in mice. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2014 Dec;17(12):1957-68. PMID: 24818616.
Tsvetkova D, Obreshkova D, Zheleva-Dimitrova D, et al. Antioxidant activity of galantamine and some of its derivatives. Curr Med Chem. 2013;20(36):4595-608. PMID: 23834167.
Ago Y, Koda K, Takuma K, et al. Pharmacological aspects of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor galantamine. J Pharmacol Sci. 2011;116(1):6-17. PMID: 21498956.
Woodruff-Pak DS, Vogel RW 3rd, Wenk GL. Galantamine: effect on nicotinic receptor binding, acetylcholinesterase inhibition, and learning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Feb 13;98(4):2089-94. PMID: 11172080.
