Pharmacological Activity of Vinca Alkaloids

Abstract

Vinca alkaloids are a set of drugs obtained from the periwinkle plant. They are naturally extracted from the plant Catharanthus roseus, and have hypoglycemic and cytotoxic effects. These are used to treat diabetes, high blood pressure and are also used as disinfectants. The vinca alkaloids are important as they can fight against cancer. The four major vinca alkaloids having medicinal properties are: Vinblastine (VBL), vinorelbine (VRL), vincristine (VCR) and vindesine (VDS). Vinflunine is a new synthetic vinca alkaloid, which has been approved in Europe for the treatment of second-line transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium. Vinca alkaloids are the second-most-used class of cancer drugs.