Vinca alkaloids

Abstract The periwinkle plant (Cantharantus roseus; Vinca rosea L.), originally indigenous to Madagascar but now cultivated all over the world, has a long and colourful history of medicinal uses for the treatment of such widely dissimilar conditions as haemorrhage, scurvy, toothache, wound healing, and diabetes. Research into the compounds responsible for the therapeutic effects of the periwinkle led to the discovery of the antitumour vinca alkaloids, vincristine and vinblastine. These cytotoxic vinca alkaloids act by binding to tubulin, thereby preventing the polymerization of microtubules essential for many cellular