Galantamine sorceress Circe's drugs. It is believed that moly is the snowdrop "Galanthus nivalis", which is a source of galantamine. The descriptions of moly given by Greek physician and herbalist Dioscorides support moly's identity as "Galanthus nivalis". It has been proposed that the drugs Circe used were an extract from "Datura stramonium" (also known as jimsonweed), which causes memory loss and delirium. This would give a basis for the snowdrop's use as an antidote, as "Datura stramonium" is anticholinergic, while galantamine is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. Galantamine is indicated for the treatment of mild to moderate vascular dementia and Alzheimer's. In the
Chlamydomonas nivalis be mass produced for its astaxanthin. The snow algae itself is likely safe to eat as there is no evidence supporting that it would cause diarrhea when ingested. Chlamydomonas nivalis Chlamydomonas nivalis is a unicellular red-coloured photosynthetic green alga that is found in the snowfields of the alps and polar regions all over the world. They are one of the main algae responsible for causing the phenomenon of watermelon snow, where patches of snow appear red or pink and emit a ripe watermelon odour upon disturbance. The first account of microbial communities that form red snow was made by Aristotle.