VINCA ROSEA: Cancer Curing Plant (vinblastine and vincristine extracts)
Botanical Name : Vinca Rosea
Family Name : Apocynaceae
Common Name : Periwinkle, Madagascar Periwinkle, Sadabahar
Part Used : Leaves, Roots
Habitat : Grows throughout india and found as an escape in waste places and sandy tracts
Uses : Its alkaloids are Hypotensive, sedative and have tranquilizing properties and are anti cancerous. It helps in relieving muscle pain, depression of central nervous system and wasps stings. It is used in case of nosebleed, bleeding gums, mouth ulcers and sore throats. It is also used internally for loss of memory, hypertension, cystitis, gastritis and enteritis, diarrhea and raised blood sugar levels.
The species has long been cultivated for herbal medicine and as an ornamental plant. In Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine) the extracts of its roots and shoots, though poisonous, is used against several diseases.[citation needed] In traditional Chinese medicine, extracts from it have been used against numerous diseases, including diabetes, malaria, and Hodgkin's lymphoma. The substances vinblastine and vincristine extracted from the plant are used in the treatment of leukemia and Hodgkin's lymphoma.
This conflict between historical indigenous use, and recent patents on C.roseus-derived drugs by western pharmaceutical companies, without compensation, has led to accusations of biopiracy. It can be dangerous if consumed orally. It can be extremely toxic, and is cited (under its synonym Vinca rosea) in Louisiana State Act 159.
As an ornamental plant, it is appreciated for its hardiness in dry and nutritionally deficient conditions, popular in subtropical gardens where temperatures never fall below 5 °C to 7 °C, and as a warm-season bedding plant in temperate gardens. It is noted for its long flowering period, throughout the year in tropical conditions, and from spring to late autumn, in warm temperate climates. Full sun and well-drained soil are preferred. Numerous cultivars have been selected, for variation in flower colour (white, mauve, peach, scarlet and reddish-orange), and also for tolerance of cooler growing conditions in temperate regions. Notable cultivars include 'Albus' (white flowers), 'Grape Cooler' (rose-pink; cool-tolerant), the Ocellatus Group (various colours), and 'Peppermint Cooler' (white with a red centre; cool-tolerant).
C. roseus is used in plant pathology as an experimental host for phytoplasmas. This is because it is easy to infect with a large majority of phytoplasmas, and also often has very distinctive symptoms such as phyllody and significantly reduced leaf size.
