Periwinkle: "Miracle drug" for cancer treatment
Thanks to its many anti-cancer properties, periwinkle has become a hope for patients suffering from this incurable disease.
1. Description
Periwinkle is also known as coconut vegetable, ivy, four-season flower, coconut flower, goat horn tree, Japanese tree, lighthouse flower... depending on the locality.
Periwinkle has the scientific name Vincarosealin or Catharanthus Roseus (L.) G.Don, belonging to the oleander family (Apocynaceae). The plant originates from the island of Madagascar in Africa but is widely grown in our country for decoration and medicine.
Periwinkle is a herbaceous plant, about 0.4 - 0.8m tall, with white sap.
Leaves: Periwinkle leaves are oval, tapering at the base, with short petioles.
Flowers: Periwinkle flowers grow in clusters, the cluster consists of 2 flowers growing from the leaf axils. Flowers come in many colors, red, pink, white with yellow or red spots near the throat depending on the variety. Flowers have petals fused into a long narrow tube, divided into 5 lobes above.
 |
| Periwinkle is grown as an ornamental plant in many families (Illustration: Internet) |
Fruit: Periwinkle fruit consists of 2 large fruits with many small black seeds.
Distribution: Periwinkle is a wild plant. In our country, this plant is distributed from Quang Ninh province to Kien Giang along the coastal area, relatively concentrated in the Central provinces such as Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Thua Thien - Hue, Quang Nam, Da Nang, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen.
2. Pharmaceutical properties
People have only recently discovered the medicinal properties of periwinkle in their medical applications because this plant is not mentioned in ancient documents of traditional medicine.
However, traditional medicine in some countries has also recorded some experiences using periwinkle to treat diseases. For example, in India, Australia, southern Africa, and the Antilles, people use periwinkle to treat diabetes with very positive results.
In addition, periwinkle roots are also used to expel worms, treat fever, as a diuretic, regulate menstruation, treat high blood pressure, treat malaria, dysentery, poor digestion...
The medicinal parts of the periwinkle are the roots, leaves or the whole plant. Usually, people often pull up the whole periwinkle bush, wash it, cut it into small pieces, dry it and store it for later use. Before using, you can roast it to make it fragrant and then boil it to make a drink.
Depending on the therapeutic purpose, periwinkle can be combined with other herbs or used alone.
In 1958, based on the experience of Indian people using periwinkle to treat tumors, Canadian scientists Noble and his colleagues conducted research and discovered the anti-cancer substance in periwinkle leaves, vincaleucoblastine (also known as Vinblastin).
Four years later, Svoboda and colleagues also found another alkaloid, Vincaleucocristine (also known as vincristine).
Clinical experiments show that vinplastin and vincristine extracts have the effect of reducing leukocytes and strongly inhibiting cell division.
These alkaloids bind specifically to Tubulin, a microtubule protein in the mitotic spindle, blocking the formation of these microtubules and causing cell division to stop at metaphase. At high concentrations, the drug kills cells, while at low concentrations it stops cell division.
The content of these alkaloids in periwinkle is very small (about 1 part per ten thousand in dry periwinkle leaves for Vinblastine and for Vincristine it is 10 times less). Therefore, the process of preparing two alkaliods from periwinkle is a complicated and expensive process.
Nowadays, people have sought to biosynthesize or semi-synthesize the above two alkaloids to reduce the cost of the drug.
Periwinkle grown in Vietnam contains about 0.1 – 0.2% total alkaloids. Of which, the white flower variety has the highest active ingredient ratio. The alkaloid ratio in the roots (0.7 – 2.4%) is higher than in the stem (0.46%) and leaves (0.37 – 1.15%).
3. How is periwinkle used to treat cancer?
The alkaloid extract from periwinkle is used in the form of sulfate salt to treat cancer.
- Vinblastine sulfate: Vinblastine sulfate is considered the first choice for the treatment of testicular carcinoma, in addition it is very effective in the treatment of Hodgkin's disease, choriocarcinoma, scalp carcinoma and renal carcinoma.
Vinblastine sulfate is also used to treat neuroblastoma, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and dermatophytosis.
- Vincristine sulfate: One of the most widely used anti-cancer drugs, especially useful for blood cancers, often used to induce remission of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
It is the first choice for treating Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, lung carcinoma, Wilms tumor, chronic myelogenous leukemia (acute exacerbation), Ewing's sarcoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma.
In addition, in combination form, Vincristine sulfate is also used for breast carcinoma, cervical cancer, neuroblastoma, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Our people have a remedy for acute leukemia (leukemia) by boiling and drinking the stems and leaves of the periwinkle plant (about 15 grams of dried stems and leaves/day).
Can periwinkle be used in herbal form to treat cancer?
Dr. Nguyen Phuong Dung, head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Preparation, Faculty of Traditional Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City, answered on the Saigon Marketing page:
'Periwinkle is a precious medicinal plant, but the treatment effectiveness depends a lot on the user's health condition, the progression of the disease, and other medications used...
Self-monitoring of health and regular health check-ups are the most important factors in early detection of diseases. Medical experts will examine and guide appropriate treatment methods for each specific subject.
No matter how 'good' the medicine is, it still requires a 'good doctor' and the active cooperation of the patient himself for the treatment process to achieve the highest efficiency.
According to Alobacsi.vn
