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Periwinkle (nayantara) a medicinal plant,
Catharanthus roseus having anti-cancer properties. Perwinkle is
a herbaceous subshrub, 40 to 80 cm high becoming woody at the base. The
leaves are oppositely arranged, oblong with a petiolate acute base. It
is probably indigenous to Madagascar, but is now widely distributed throughout
the warm regions of the world, including Bangladesh, and is cultivated
as an ornamental plant. In indigenous medicine this plant is used in the
treatment of diabetes and also as a hypotensive, sedative, and tranquilising
agent.
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Periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus |
Although modern investigators have been unable to confirm these
properties, the traditional uses of this plant, particularly its use as
an oral hypoglycaemic agent, led the Eli Lilly and Company to undertake
intensive phytochemical investigation of the plant which resulted in the
isolation of two important indole alkaloids, vinblastine and vincristine,
which are of significant value in cancer therapy. They are now available
commercially. [Abdul Ghani] |
