Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are secondary metabolites with interesting medicinal properties. Almost every Narcissus species can synthesize them and constitute an excellent source for their isolation and study. Several Amaryllidaceae alkaloids have shown acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities and are a promising tool for treating cholinergic disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Indeed, three of the four palliative treatments approved for AD are acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors and one of them, galanthamine, is an Amaryllidaceae alkaloid itself. This molecule is currently isolated from natural sources. However, its production is insufficient to supply the increasing demand for the active principle. Our main aim is to discover tools to improve galanthamine production and to prospect for potential new and more efficient drugs for AD treatment. Furthermore, we seek to broaden the knowledge of plants of the genus Narcissus from a chemotaxonomic perspective. Hence, in this study, we evaluate the alkaloid content through GC–MS and the AChE inhibitory activity of ten autumn-flowering Narcissus, which have been less studied than their spring-flowering counterparts. A total of thirty Amaryllidaceae alkaloids have been found, twenty-eight properly identified. Two Narcissus contained galanthamine, and seven were able to inhibit AChE.

Erythrolamprus macrosomus (Amaral, 1936) is a snake recently revalidated to the species level, with a known distribution in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. We discovered a single specimen in Bolivia from the Department of Cochabamba, that corroborates this species in the country and extends its distribution westward.

Cien años después de la colecta de J. Steinbach de Erythrolamprus andinus (Dixon, 1983), reportamos el redescubrimiento de E. andinus en la localidad tipo de Incachaca, Cochabamba, Bolivia. Por primera vez, se proporcionan comentarios sobre la coloración en vida, como también las primeras imágenes a color para la especie. Considerando la rareza de esta serpiente debido a los pocos registros desde su descripción, recomendamos un estado de conservación global de En Peligro Crítico para E. andinus.