Former sheep farmer Kevin Stevens grows and collects daffodils in the Wales Black Mountains to help patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Daffodils contain a large amount of galantamine, a compound that is known to slow the progression of Alzheimer's symptoms.

Kevin Stevens, owner of the biological research company Agroceutical Products, grows daffodils 1000 feet above sea level in the Black Mountains in Powis, the county’s Welsh administrative unit. The fact is that daffodils grown in high mountains contain more galantamine than those grown under ordinary conditions.

After collecting, the daffodils are processed and delivered to pharmaceutical companies for crystallization in prescription tablets and capsules. The five-person Agroceutical Products team produces 20 kg of galantamine per year, helping more than 9,000 Alzheimer's patients worldwide.

Agroceutical Products is exporting its products to US and Canadian pharmaceutical companies and is planning to enter the New Zealand market with the support of the State Department of International Trade (DIT).

Kevin Stevens said: “It is amazing to think that the Welsh national emblem, a humble daffodil, can improve the lives of Alzheimer's patients worldwide, while providing an economic future for highland farmers and their families. In recent years, interest in herbal pharmaceuticals has increased, and there are many unused herbal compounds that could become very important drugs in the coming years. ”