Vinca in Herbalist: Property of Vinca

Scientific name

Vinca rosea, sin. Catharanthus roseus

Family

Apocynaceae

Origin

Tropical Africa, Madagascar

Used Parts

Drug consisting of the aerial parts of the plant or the entire plant

Chemical constituents

Alkaloids (vincristine, vinblastine, vindoline, vindesina, catharantina).

Vinca in Herbalist: Property of Vinca

Vinca is a plant that is not used as such in phytotherapy, but from which important active ingredients are used, used in the oncology field as powerful anticancer agents, particularly in leukemic chemotherapy.

Biological activity

As mentioned, the use of vinca has not obtained official approval for any type of therapeutic indication. However, active ingredients with antitumor action (such as vincristine and vinblastine) have been isolated from the plant and are still used in the medical field.

These active ingredients belong to the class of antimitotic agents and perform their antitumor action during the cell division phase. More in detail, these molecules prevent the formation of the mitotic spindle, thus blocking the process of cell division (mitosis). By doing so, the cancer cell cannot replicate and undergoes apoptosis.

These active ingredients are used to treat a wide variety of neoplastic diseases, such as leukemia, lymphoma, sarcomas, myelomas, breast cancer, lung cancer, adrenal medullary cancer and retinoblastoma.

Win in folk medicine and homeopathy

In folk medicine vinca is used as an infusion for the treatment of menstrual disorders and as an anti-inflammatory remedy to counteract a sore throat.

Furthermore, vinca was once used by traditional medicine as a hypoglycemic remedy for the treatment of diabetes.

Vinca is also used in homeopathic medicine, where it can be found in the form of oral drops, mother tincture and granules.

In this context the plant is used in case of skin inflammations, eczema, pustules, minor burns, menorrhagia, dizziness, tinnitus, headache and memory disorders.

The amount of homeopathic remedy to be taken can vary from one individual to another, also depending on the type of disorder that needs to be treated and depending on the type of preparation and homeopathic dilution that is intended to be used.