Vinca

For other uses, see Vinca (disambiguation).

Vinca
Vinca minor
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Apocynaceae
Subfamily:	Rauvolfioideae
Tribe:	Vinceae
Subtribe:	Vincinae M.E.Endress
Genus:	Vinca L. 1753
Synonyms [1]
PervincaMill.

Vinca ( /ˈvɪŋkə/ ; ^[2] Latin: vincire "to bind, fetter") is an Old World genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, The English name periwinkle is shared with the related genus Catharanthus (and with the mollusc Littorina littorea ). Some Vinca species are cultivated but have also spread invasively. Additionally, some species have medicinal uses. The most widespread species is Vinca minor.

Description

Vinca difformis in habitat, Cáceres, Spain

Vinca plants are subshrubs or herbaceous, and have slender trailing stems 1–2 m (3+1⁄2–6+1⁄2 ft) long but not growing more than 20–70 cm (8–27+1⁄2 in) above ground; the stems frequently take root where they touch the ground, enabling the plant to spread widely. The leaves are opposite, simple broad lanceolate to ovate, 1–9 cm (1⁄2–3+1⁄2 in) long and 0.5–6 cm (1⁄4–2+1⁄4 in) broad; they are evergreen in four species, but deciduous in the herbaceous V. herbacea, which dies back to the root system in winter. ^{[3] [4]}

The flowers, produced through most of the growing season, are salverform (like those of Phlox ), simple, 2.5–7 cm (1–3 in) broad, with five usually violet (occasionally white) petals joined together at the base to form a tube. The fruit consists of a pair of divergent follicles; the dry fruit dehisces along one rupture site to release seeds. ^{[3] [4]}

Species

Accepted species: ^[1]

• Vinca difformis Pourr. – Azores, western and central Mediterranean
• Vinca erecta Regel & Schmalh. – Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
• Vinca herbacea Waldst. & Kit. – central, eastern and southeastern Europe; Middle East
• Vinca ispartensis Koyuncu & Ekşi – Turkey ^[5]
• Vinca major L. – southern Europe, Turkey, Syria, Caucasus; introduced to and established in New Zealand, California, British Isles, central Europe, Ukraine, North Africa, south China, Canary Islands, Madeira, North America, ^[6] Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, ^[7] Costa Rica, Guatemala
• Vinca minor L. – central and southeastern Europe, Ukraine, Caucasus; introduced to and established in British Isles, Scandinavia, Portugal, Turkey, south China, North America, ^[8] New Zealand
• Vinca soneri Koyuncu – Turkey

Distribution and habitat

The genus is native to Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. ^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

Ecology

Vinca major and Vinca minor may be invasive in some regions where they are introduced species because the rapid spreading chokes out native plant species and alters habitats. Areas affected include parts of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States, especially coastal California. ^{[13] [14]}

Cultivation

Vinca major and V. minor are extensively cultivated as a flowering evergreen ornamental plant. Because the plants are low and spread quickly, they are often used as groundcover in garden landscapes and container gardens. They are also traditionally used in older cemeteries as an evergreen maintenance-free ground cover. ^[15] Many cultivars are available, with different plant, leaf, and flower colors, sizes, and habits.

Vinca plants spreading along a border

Medicinal uses

The vinca alkaloids include at least 86 alkaloids extracted from plants in the genus Vinca. ^{[16] [17] [18]} The chemotherapy agent vincristine is extracted from a closely related species, Catharanthus roseus , ^{[19] [20] [21]} and is used to treat some leukemias, ^[22] lymphomas, ^[23] and childhood cancers, ^[24] as well as several other types of cancer and some non-cancerous conditions. Vinblastine is a chemical analogue of vincristine ^{[17] [20] [25]} and is also used to treat various forms of cancer. ^[26] Dimeric alkaloids such as vincristine and vinblastine are produced by the coupling the smaller indole alkaloids vindoline and catharanthine. ^{[17] [27]} In addition, the nootropic agent vincamine is derived from V. minor. Vinorelbine, a newer semi-synthetic chemotherapeutic agent, is used in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer ^{[20] [28]} and is prepared either from the natural products leurosine ^{[29] [30]} or catharanthine and vindoline, ^{[20] [31]} in both cases by first preparing anhydrovinblastine. ^{[19] [20] [31]}

References

1. "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families" . Retrieved May 17, 2014.
2. Stearn, W. T. (1983). Botanical Latin ed. 3. David & Charles ISBN   0-7153-8548-8.
3. Blamey, M., & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. Hodder & Stoughton.
4. Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening 4: 664-665. Macmillan.
5. "Vinca ispartensis Koyuncu & Eksi". Plants of the World Online. Kew Science. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
6. "Plants Profile for Vinca major (bigleaf periwinkle)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
7. "Neotropical Plant Portal Research Checklist: Peru". hasbrouck.asu.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
8. "Plants Profile for Vinca minor (common periwinkle)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
9. Flora Europaea: Vinca
10. "EuroMed Plantbase Project: Vinca". Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
11. Flora of Pakistan: Vinca
12. Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Vinca included photos plus European distribution maps
13. Global Compendium of Weeds: Vinca major
14. Global Compendium of Weeds: Vinca minor
15. "Periwinkle" . Retrieved 16 November 2012.
16. Hesse, Manfred (2002). Alkaloids: Nature's Curse or Blessing?. Wiley-VCH. p. 7. ISBN   978-3-906390-24-6.
17. van Der Heijden, Robert; Jacobs, Denise I.; Snoeijer, Wim; Hallard, Didier; Verpoorte, Robert (2004). "The Catharanthus alkaloids: Pharmacognosy and biotechnology". Current Medicinal Chemistry . 11 (5): 607–628. doi:10.2174/0929867043455846. PMID   15032608.
18. Cooper, Raymond; Deakin, Jeffrey John (2016). "Africa's gift to the world". Botanical Miracles: Chemistry of Plants That Changed the World. CRC Press. pp. 46–51. ISBN   9781498704304.
19. Gansäuer, Andreas; Justicia, José; Fan, Chun-An; Worgull, Dennis; Piestert, Frederik (2007). "Reductive C—C bond formation after epoxide opening via electron transfer". In Krische, Michael J. (ed.). Metal Catalyzed Reductive C—C Bond Formation: A Departure from Preformed Organometallic Reagents. Topics in Current Chemistry. Vol. 279. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 25–52. doi:10.1007/128_2007_130. ISBN   9783540728795.
20. Keglevich, Péter; Hazai, Laszlo; Kalaus, György; Szántay, Csaba (2012). "Modifications on the basic skeletons of vinblastine and vincristine". Molecules . 17 (5): 5893–5914. doi: 10.3390/molecules17055893 . PMC   6268133 . PMID   22609781.
21. Raviña, Enrique (2011). "Vinca alkaloids". The evolution of drug discovery: From traditional medicines to modern drugs. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 157–159. ISBN   9783527326693.
22. "Chemotherapy for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia". cancer.org . American Cancer Society. February 18, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
    "Chemotherapy for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia". cancer.org . American Cancer Society. February 22, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
    "Chemotherapy for Childhood Leukemia". cancer.org . American Cancer Society. February 3, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
23. "Chemotherapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma". cancer.org . American Cancer Society. March 29, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
    "Chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma". cancer.org . American Cancer Society. May 31, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
24. "Chemotherapy for Neuroblastoma". cancer.org . American Cancer Society. January 22, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
    "Chemotherapy for Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors in Children". cancer.org . American Cancer Society. January 21, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
25. Sears, Justin E.; Boger, Dale L. (2015). "Total Synthesis of Vinblastine, Related Natural Products, and Key Analogues and Development of Inspired Methodology Suitable for the Systematic Study of Their Structure-Function Properties". Accounts of Chemical Research . 48 (3): 653–662. doi:10.1021/ar500400w. PMC   4363169 . PMID   25586069.
26. "Chemotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer". cancer.org . American Cancer Society. May 16, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
    "Chemotherapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma". cancer.org . American Cancer Society. March 29, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
    "Chemotherapy for Testicular Cancer". cancer.org . American Cancer Society. February 12, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
27. Hirata, K.; Miyamoto, K.; Miura, Y. (1994). "Catharanthus roseus L. (Periwinkle): Production of Vindoline and Catharanthine in Multiple Shoot Cultures". In Bajaj, Y. P. S. (ed.). Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry 26. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Vol. VI. Springer-Verlag. pp.  46–55. ISBN   9783540563914.
28. Faller, Bryan A.; Pandi, Trailokya N. (2011). "Safety and efficacy of vinorelbine in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer". Clinical Medicine Insights: Oncology . 5: 131–144. doi:10.4137/CMO.S5074. PMC   3117629 . PMID   21695100.
29. Morcillo, Sara P.; Miguel, Delia; Campaña, Araceli G.; Cienfuegos, Luis Álvarez de; Justicia, José; Cuerva, Juan M. (2014). "Recent applications of Cp₂TiCl in natural product synthesis". Organic Chemistry Frontiers. 1 (1): 15–33. doi: 10.1039/c3qo00024a . hdl: 10481/47295 .
30. Hardouin, Christophe; Doris, Eric; Rousseau, Bernard; Mioskowski, Charles (2002). "Concise synthesis of anhydrovinblastine from leurosine". Organic Letters . 4 (7): 1151–1153. doi:10.1021/ol025560c. PMID   11922805.
31. Ngo, Quoc Anh; Roussi, Fanny; Cormier, Anthony; Thoret, Sylviane; Knossow, Marcel; Guénard, Daniel; Guéritte, Françoise (2009). "Synthesis and biological evaluation of Vinca alkaloids and phomopsin hybrids". Journal of Medicinal Chemistry . 52 (1): 134–142. doi:10.1021/jm801064y. PMID   19072542.

External links

• Media related to Vinca at Wikimedia Commons