Galanthus nivalis can be helpful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, though it is not a cure. Snowdrops contain also an active lectin or agglutinin named GNA for "Galanthus nivalis agglutinin". Potatoes have been genetically modified with the GNA gene. In 1998 Árpád Pusztai said in an interview on a World in Action programme that his group had observed damage to the intestines and immune systems of rats fed the genetically modified potatoes. He also said "If I had the choice I would certainly not eat it", and that "I find it's very unfair to use our fellow citizens as guinea pigs".
Luzula nivalis wide range of mainly moist habitats and , including wet meadows, snow patches, seepages, along the margins of ponds, marshes, streams (and other water bodies) as well as tundra, slopes and ridges. Occasionally "L. nivalis" has been found on dry sites including gravel, sand, silt, clay, till. Luzula nivalis Luzula nivalis, commonly known as arctic wood-rush or less commonly as snowy wood-rush (both names are used with or without hyphenation), is a species of perennial rushes endemic to Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Northern Europe in Scandinavia. It was described by Polunin (1940) as one of the most abundant, ubiquitous, and