BACKGROUND Catharanthus roseus is an important Ayurvedic medication in traditional medicine. It is potentially used in countries like India, South Africa, China and Malaysia for the healing of diabetes mellitus. Although, the molecular mechanisms behind this effect are yet to be exclusively explored. Due to the great antidiabetic and hyperlipidemic potential of c. roseus, we hypothesized that t...

A procedure for cryogenic storage of alkaloid producing cell lines of periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don., has been developed. The procedure differs from established cryopreservation protocols in several aspects. Specifically, 4-day-old suspension subcultures of three cell lines were precultured in nutrient media supplemented with 1 molar sorbitol for 6 to 20 hours. The cells were then...

methods such as antisense–cosuppression technologies or overexpression, scientists could tailor medicinal plants to produce pharmaceutically important secondary metabolites by eliminating interfering metabolic steps or by introducing desired steps. For example, to accumulate more of an end product, analysts could block a side pathway that also uses the same precursor (6). A transgene could be i...

Hydroxylation of tabersonine at the C-16 position, catalyzed by tabersonine 16-hydroxylase (T16H), initiates the synthesis of vindoline that constitutes the main alkaloid accumulated in leaves of Catharanthus roseus. Over the last decade, this reaction has been associated with CYP71D12 cloned from undifferentiated C. roseus cells. In this study, we isolated a second cytochrome P450 (CYP71D351) ...

Catharanthus roseus (L.) known as Madagascar periwinkle (MP) is a legendary medicinal plant mostly because of possessing two invaluable antitumor terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs), vincristine and vinblastine. The plant has also high aesthetic value as an evergreen ornamental that yields prolific blooms of splendid colors. The plant possesses yet another unique characteristic as an amiable expe...

The low yield and high market price of the pharmaceutically important alkaloids of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don viz. vincristine, vinblastine and ajmalicine have created interest in improved alternative routes for their production such as using cell and tissue culture. The callus developed on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with different concentrations of auxins and cytokinins w...

The title compound, C20H22N2O2, an alkaloid isolated from the Madagascar periwinkle, crystallizes in P1 with two independent but closely similar mol-ecules in the unit cell. The mol-ecules are linked into pairs by two N-H⋯O=C hydrogen bonds. The absolute configuration was confirmed by anomalous dispersion effects as S at the 3 and 15 positions, and R at the 7 position.

The majority of the Met synthesized in plants is utilized for methylations performed with S-adenosyl-L-Met. These reactions play a major role in the modification of a large variety of acceptor molecules, such as lipids, polysaccharides, nucleic acids, proteins, and secondary plant products (reviewed by Giovanelli, 1987). The hydrolysis of SAH to adenosine and L-homocysteine by SAH hydrolase is ...


 In the present investigation, antimicrobial activity of Catharanthus roseus (leaves and stem) was evaluated. The plant material extracted through maceration method results were recorded against different bacterial (Bacillus subtilis Pseudomonas flourescence) fungal (Aspergillus flavus Fusarium culmorum) strains. zones inhibition measured these strains compared with commercially available...