Scopolamine: a journey from the field to clinics

Tropane alkaloids are present in many different plants of the Solanaceae family and widely known for their anticholinergic properties. Among them, most valued and increasingly demanded is scopolamine, also known under the name of hyoscine, which is used as pharmaceutical active substance in the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting, motion sickness and gastrointestinal, renal and biliary spasms for instance. It naturally occurs in various plant genera, e.g. Anisodus, Anthocercis, Atropa, Brugmansia, Datura, Duboisia, Hyoscyamus, Mandragora and Scopolia and the purified substance has a long history of use dating back to the nineteenth century. Until today, the supply in scopolamine is mainly covered by large scale field plant cultivation of hybrids between Duboisia myoporoides and Duboisia leichhardtii. Biotechnological approaches optimising the alkaloid biosynthesis, for example the use of callus cultures or genetically transformed hairy root cultures, are not competitive by now. The aim of this review is to give a comprehensive overview regarding the current knowledge on botanical origin, pharmacology, biosynthesis as well as agricultural and biotechnological production of scopolamine.