The invention discloses a process for the purification of galanthamine (I) said process consisting of the following steps: a) addition of hydrobromic acid to a mixture of alkaloids containing galanthamine obtained from a plant of the Amaryllidaceae family, said mixture being dissolved in a solvent selected from methanol, ethanol, propanol or isopropanol b) recovery of the precipitate c) dissolution of the precipitate in a basic aqueous solution d) extraction with a solvent of general formula (II) in which R1 is hydrogen or methyl and R2 is selected from n-butyl, isobutyl, sec- butyl and t-butyl e) concentration of the organic phase f) recovery of the precipitated galanthamine (I) by known method.
