Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus)

Importance and chemical composition

 Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) belonging to the family Apocynaceae, is one of the
few medicinal plants which have found mention in the folk medicinal literature as early
as 2nd BC.
 Modern investigations have shown that periwinkle contains more than 100 alkaloids,
distributed through out the plant.
 It has medicinal importance owing to the presence of alkaloids like ajmalicine (raubasin),
serpentine and reserpine in roots, which is well known for their hypotensive and
antispasmodic properties.
 It gained further importance after the isolation of vincristine and vinblastine alkaloids
from leaves, which have importance in cancer therapy.
 Vincristine sulphate is being marketed under the trade name ONCOVIN, which is used
against acute leukemia and vinblastine sulphate as VELBE to cure Hodgkin’s disease.
Origin and distribution
 The plant is native of Madagascar and from there, it has spread to India, Indonesia, Indo-
China, Philippines, South Africa, Israel, USA and other parts of the world.
 In India, it is being grown in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat and Assam in an area of about 3000 ha.
 Farmers prefer it because of its wide adaptability and its ability to grow in marginal lands
and its drought tolerance.
 The presence of alkaloids all over the plant confers immunity to cattle – browsing and
crop loss due to pilferage.
 The USA is the world’s largest user of this plant as raw material. A single firm which has
the patent to manufacture Vinblastine and Vincristine sulphate has been consuming more
than 1000 t of leaves annually.
 West Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the UK are interested in the roots. The total
demand from these countries is more than 1000t of roots annually.
Description of plant
It is a perennial herb which grows up to 90-120 cm tall. It is a diploid with the
chromosome number 2n = 16.
Types and varieties
There are three variants in periwinkle, those with (i) rose purple flowers, (ii) white
flowers and (iii) white flowers with a rose purple spot in the centre. The first type is being
cultivated because of its higher alkaloid content. Recently, two white flowered varieties named
“Nirmal” and “Dhawal” have been released by the CIMAP, Lucknow, which although equal in
active principles are reported to yield a higher biomass.
Dhawal
• Year of Release: 1997
• Developed from an induced mutant with high content of leaf alkaloids
• Resistant to die-back
• Plant height: 75—cm
• Leaves: Pubescent, wavy
• Flower: White
• Leaf yield: 2.0 t/ha
• Total leaf alkaloids content: 1.3-1.7%
• Root yield: 0.6 —0.8 t/ha
• Total root alkaloids content: 1.6-1.8%
Nirmal
• Year of Release: 1989
• Developed as a pure-line variety from a single plant
• Possess high level of resistance in a die-back and collar and root rot
• Leaf yield: 2 t/ha
• Total leaf alkaloids content: 0.8-1.0%
• Root yield: 1t/ha
• Total root alkaloids content: 1.6-1.8%
• Plant type: erect
• Plant height: 75-85 cm
• Leaves: pubescent
• Flowers: White

Prabal
• Year of Release: 2001
• Developed through pure line selection
• Winter hardiness
• Leaf yield: 1.1 to 2.6 t/ha
• Total alkaloids content:1.65-1.95 %
• Root yield: 0.8-1.0 t/ha
• Total root alkaloids content: 1.5-1.85 %

Cultivation
Soil
The crop is hardy and grows well on a wide variety of soils, except those which are
alkaline or water- logged. Deep sandy loam to loam soils of medium fertility are preferred for its
large scale cultivation because of better development of roots and also easy to collect at harvest
time.
Climate
 The distribution of the plant shows that there is no specificity in its climatic requirements.
It comes up well in tropical and subtropical areas. However the growth in tropical areas is better
than in the subtropical areas, where its growth is slow due to the low temperature in winter. It
can be successfully grown up to an elevation of 1300 m above sea level. A well distributed
rainfall of 100 cm or more is ideal for raising this crop on commercial scale under rain-fed
conditions.
Propagation
The plants can either be propagated by seeds or vegetatively through cuttings. Since
plants propagated by cuttings flower earlier than the plants from seeds, it is recommended that
for drug production the plants should be grown from seeds and for seed production from
cuttings.
Propagation by seeds
Fresh seeds collected a few months in advance are preferred for sowing as they lose
viability on long storage. The seeds can either be directly sown in the field or a nursery can be
raised and the seedlings are transplanted.
Direct Sowing
This method is best suited for large areas where labour is expensive as it reduces the cost
of production. The land is ploughed twice and brought to fine tilth. Weeds, stubble and pebbles
are removed. The field is divided into plots of convenient size and the soil is mixed with the
recommended dose of manures and fertilizers. The seeds at the rate of 2.5kg/ha are broadcasted
at the onset of monsoon in June – July, in lines spaced 30 -45 cm apart and lightly covered. Since
the seeds are very small, for ease in handling and distribution, they are mixed with sand about 10
times their weight. Germination takes place after about 7 – 8 days. After germination is complete
the seedlings are thinned at a spacing of 30 – 40 cm within the row. The flowering starts 40 – 45
days after sowing.
Nursery preparation and transplanting
When seed supply is short this method can be followed. The other advantage of this
method in comparison to direct sowing is that healthy and vigorously growing seedlings can be
selected and the inferior ones can be discarded. The seeds are sown in well prepared, raised
nursery beds in March – April in rows spaced at 8 – 10 cm apart and about 1.5cm deep. About
500 gm of seeds will be enough to raise seedlings to cover 1 ha area. After two months of
germination, the seedlings are ready for transplanting into the field. The seedlings are
transplanted at a spacing of 45 x 30 cm in the field. A population of 74, 000 plants per ha may be
accommodated.
Vegetative propagation
To raise plants by this method, soft wood cuttings obtained from the lateral shoots have
proved better than either hard or semi hard wood cuttings. Cuttings of about 10 – 15 cm length
with a minimum of 5-6 nodes are ideal and result in about 90% rooting. Soaking the cuttings
over night in NAA solution of 25 or 50 ppm concentration has been found to further improve
rooting to the extent of 96%. This method can be profitably used for multiplying the clones
which have high alkaloid content and also where seed alone is to be produced.
Manures and fertilizers
FYM is applied at the rate of 10 – 15 t/ha to obtain good growth and yield. If irrigation is
available, green manure crops can be raised and ploughed into the field at the time of flowering.
In case organic manure is not applied it is advisable to apply a basal dose of 20 kg N, 30 kg P 2O5
and 30 kg of K2O per hectare per year. In addition, a top dressing with 20 kg nitrogen can be
given in two equal split doses during the season.
Irrigation
In places where rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year, the plants do not
require any irrigation. However in areas where rainfall is restricted to a few months in a
particular period, about 4-5 irrigations will help the plants to give optimum yield.
Weed control
The crop requires two weedings in the initial stages of its growth. The first weeding may
be done after about 60 days of sowing and the second at 120 days of sowing. Mulching the field
with cut grass or rice straw will also minimize the weed growth.
Pests and diseases
Plant is hardy hence devoid of pest and diseases. Occasionally they suffer from little leaf
due to infection by mycoplasma resulting in stunted growth. This can be effectively checked by
uprooting and destroying the affected plants.
Die back / Twig blight/top rot is reported during monsoon. Control measure is spraying
Mancozeb at an interval of 10 -15 days.
Harvest, processing and yield
Harvesting and processing
i. Leaves, stem and seeds: For leaves, leaf stripping twice, first after 6 months and the second
after 9 months of sowing can be taken. A third leaf stripping is also obtained when the whole
plant is harvested. After the plant is harvested, it is dried in the shade.
ii. Roots: The crop is harvested 12 months of sowing. The plants are cut about 7.5 cm above the
ground level and dried for the stem, leaves and seeds. The field is then copiously irrigated and
when it reaches proper condition for digging, it is ploughed and the roots are collected. The roots
are washed well and dried in the shade.
For seeds, it has to be collected from matured pods 2 to 3 months before the harvest of
the whole plant. The aerial part of the plant between 7.5cm and about 25 cm above the ground
level is taken as the stem for the purpose of marketing.
Yield
Under irrigated conditions, about 4t/ha of leaves, 1.5t/ha of stem and 1.5t/ha of roots, on
air dried basis may be obtained. Whereas, under rainfed conditions, the yield will be about 2 t/ha
of leaves and 0.75t/ha each of stem and roots on air dried basis. The total alkaloid content in the
leaf varies from 0.15 to 1.34 % of which the average content of Vinblastine is 0.002% while that
of Vincristine is 0.005%.