Galanthus (Snowdrop)
One of the flowers representing birth in January is the Galanthus, also known as the Snowdrop. Galanthus is derived from Greek, gala (milk) and anthos (flower), and most species flower in winter, before the vernal equinox. Galanthus nivalis is the best know representative of its species, being native to a large area of Europe, from the Pyrenees, through France and Germany to Poland, then through Italy, Bulgaria, Greece and the Ukraine. The Romans were thought to have introduced the Snowdrop to the British Isles around the early sixteenth century. The Snowdrop contains an active substance called galantamine, which has shown to be successful in helping ease the symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
The Pusztai Affair
The Snowdrop also contains an active lectin or agglutinin named GNA (galanthus nivalis agglutinin), introduced to genetically modified potatoes as a toxin, making them resistant to the potato aphid. In 1998, World in Action, a British current affairs television program, aired an interview with Arpad Pusztai, a scientist researching the effects of the genetically modified potatoes. He claimed that his group observed damage to the intestines and immune systems of rats fed the genetically modified potatoes. He stated in the interview, “I would certainly not eat it,” and “I find it’s very unfair to use our fellow citizens as guinea pigs.” His comments resulted in the so-called “Pusztai affair”.
