Their dancing yellow flowers herald spring, while poet William Wordsworth famously wrote how, at the sight of a host of golden daffodils, “my heart with pleasure fills”.

Now a Scottish university is examining how daffodils may hold other ‘heart-warming’ benefits and play a major part in helping to prevent cardiovascular disorders.

The joint research project is looking at the effects of natural compounds found in the stem, leaves and petals of UK-grown daffodils and how they might form the basis of a new medical treatment for heart failure.

Initial findings from Agroceutical Products – a Wales-based pharmaceuticals company that uses daffodils for their bio-active properties – and Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University (RGU) have found specific compounds taken from daffodils have the potential to prevent thickening and stiffening of the walls of the heart.

When grown in certain environments, typically on higher ground, daffodils produce natural bio-active compounds known as alkaloids. In the study, three different alkaloids are being tested using cell-based models that mimic cardiac conditions to understand the different impact they have on contributors to heart failure, such as fibrosis.

The study, which is being supported by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC), will provide the research team with data about the most effective compounds for preventing the conditions that lead to cardiovascular problems, as well as helping to refine the way they are extracted from the flower.

Around one-third of daffodils grown in the UK are currently used for their bulbs, which produce a high-value alkaloid called galanthamine which is used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Daffodils grown at higher levels where they have to endure harsher conditions and are placed under stress, produce more of the chemical.

Once harvested, the daffodils are processed and supplied to pharmaceutical companies where the precious compound is crystallised into prescription tablets and capsules.

Just 20 kilos of galantamine can provide enough medication for up to 9,000 Alzheimer’s patients for a year.

However, Agroceutical Products, which produces galanthamine from bulbs grown 1,000 feet above sea level in the Black Mountains in Powys, now want to make use of the entire daffodil plant.

Results from the RGU and Agroceutical Products study could also unlock the opportunity to make use of all parts of the plant, stopping the stems, leaves, and petals from going to waste.

Kevin Stephens, founder and director of Agroceutical Products, said: “Only a small proportion of daffodils grown across the world actually end up as decorative bunches of flowers, and we already have a well-established UK supply chain that is helping to treat Alzheimer’s.

“This study could lead to the development of additional medicines that could be transformational for patients suffering with heart conditions, with promising initial findings.

“It is also about valorising biomass that would otherwise go to waste and working closely with the farmers to maximise the output and the value of their crops.”

Natural products have long been used by the pharmaceuticals sector and estimates suggest that around 50% of all new drugs introduced globally over the last four decades have been derived from nature.

Daffodils alone contain over 300 alkaloids, although some are toxic and can cause severe reactions – and potentially fatal - if ingested.

However, they have been used for remedies for centuries: there are records of plants from the Narcissus genus, which includes daffodils, being used in Ancient Greece to treat cancer.

Recent research has been carried out in Belgium into the anti-cancer properties of the daffodil extract hemanthamine.

Professor Cherry Wainwright, director at the Centre for Cardio-metabolic Research and co-director of the Centre for Natural Products in Health at RGU, said: “In their purest form, alkaloids can be toxic to humans and animals, but when isolated, purified and prescribed correctly they can be used as an effective treatment for disease.

“We have already seen a positive effect on the heart cells being tested, with the alkaloids interrupting a sequence of events that could lead to the stiffening of heart tissues and result in heart failure, and look forward to discovering more as we take the concept to the next stage.”

The study is being supported by IBioIC, which was established in 2014 to stimulate growth of the industrial biotechnology (IB) sector in Scotland by connecting industry with academic expertise and government.

Scotland’s National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology aims to achieve £900 million in associated turnover for 2025 - in 2020 the figure had grown to almost £800 million.

It has so far provided support for more than 200 companies, across a range of collaborative innovation projects, with total investment of £6.4 million to date which has leveraged an additional £28.5 million from businesses, follow-on funding from other sources or partnering with other funding initiatives.

Liz Fletcher, director of business engagement at IBioIC, added: “If you have ever seen a field of daffodils in full bloom and wondered why they weren’t harvested at bud stage, it is most likely that the plants are being grown for use in the life sciences sector.

“While using natural compounds for medicinal purposes can offer huge economic potential for farmers in rural communities, it is also a great example of how naturally occurring products can feed into major industries and have a positive impact on people’s lives.

“We are excited to see how the research team take forward the findings from this collaborative initiative.”

TIE PIECE Plant power Plants have provided the building blocks for some of our most common medicines - around 11% of the drugs considered 'basic' and 'essential' by the World Health Organisation originated in flowering plants, while many more are derived from plants without flowers.

One of the most commonly used, Aspirin, is modelled after a naturally occurring salicylic acid, found in a number of plants, including white willow, wintergreens and birch.

Quinine, a key treatment for malaria, originates from alkaloid taken from the Cinchona calisaya tree from South America.

Pain killing opiates such as Oxycontin, morphine and codeine, were developed around alkaloids discovered in the Opium poppy and synthetic versions created.

While the antibiotic Myriocin is derived from certain types of fungus.

Digoxin, prescribed to help with heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias, was developed from the foxglove plant in the 1930s. Foxglove was being used to treat conditions such as dropsy and other cardiac conditions as far back as 1785.

The bark of the Pacific Yew provides the vital compound for chemotherapy drug, Taxol, which is used to treat several cancers. The process of harvesting it, however, kills the tree and led to concerns over the environmental impact. Researchers went on to use the needles of the European yew for the compound.