Chemical Trail

Choline is a fairly complex organic molecule. You could think of it as three methane molecules, bonded to a nitrogen atom, which is also bonded to a hydroxyl ion (an atom of oxygen and one of hydrogen). Choline is absolutely essential to all of us. It is a key component of cell membranes and vital to the development of nervous tissue, especially the brain. It is present in quite high concentration in breast milk and a mandatory constituent of baby formula

Our livers can manufacture choline, but not enough for our needs. Happily, it is present in many foods: meat and dairy, egg yolk, brassicas, nuts and seeds, cereals and fruit, so not usually a problem for people with enough to eat

Choline is also critical as a component of acetylcholine - the product of combining choline with acetic acid. 'Acetylcholine' should ring bells if you studied any biology at school. It is the standard example of a 'neurotransmitter' - the chemical that is produced when an electrical impulse reaches the end of a nerve fibre. The transmitter moves across the gap between the end of one nerve and the start of the next one (or a muscle that the nerve wants to activate), where it stimulates the creation of a new electrical impulse, allowing the 'message' that the nerve is carrying to proceed through the body (or brain), or the muscle to contract

Having done its job, it is essential that the acetylcholine is disabled, so that it does not stimulate impulse after impulse, leading to chaos in the nervous system or muscular spasms. The body destroys spent acetylcholine by releasing an enzyme called, dauntingly, 'acetylcholinesterase'. One of many possible causes of Alzheimer's disease is an excess of acetylcholinesterase in the body, breaking down acetylcholine too quickly, before it has done its job of transmitting nerve signals. One treatment for Alzheimer's is drugs that inhibit and counteract the excess of acetylcholinesterase

One of these drugs is galantamine - named after the Latin name for snowdrop, in the bulbs of which it was first found. It is also present in the bulbs of Narcissus, daffodils. There have been pilot projects growing daffodil bulbs specifically to extract the galantamine. Sadly, I don't think any of these have gone on to true commercial success

The name Narcissus is linked to the Greek word meaning 'to make numb' - remarkably close to the effect of galantamine. The Greeks certainly used daffodil bulbs medicinally, but I don't think that is the reason the flower got the mythical name. This is the first one in the garden. After one bright, warm day yesterday, they are suddenly everywhere