Why so Many Cancer Drugs Are Made From Periwinkle

Most people don't know that two compounds found in this perennial plant are the second most-used class of chemotherapy meds, and have been in use since the 1960s.

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• Compounds found in rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), a perennial plant native to Madagascar, form the basis for a number of commonly used cancer drugs that have been in use since the 1960s

• Of the 70 different alkaloids found in periwinkle, the two primary compounds used in anticancer drugs are the powerful vinca alkaloids vinblastin…