Catharanthus longifolius

The occurrence of structurally established bisindole alkaloids in Cath-aranthus roseus (L.) G. Don and in the minor species of Catharanthus, namely, C. lanceus (Boj. ex DC.) Pich., C. longifolius Pich., C. ovalis Mgf., C. pusillus (Murr.) G. Don, and C. trichophyllus (Bak.) Pich, is... 

C46HjgN40 Mr 810.99, cryst., mp. 216°C, [alp +42 (CHCI3) a dimeric indole alkaloid from Catharanthus roseus (see Vinca alkaloids), composed of two parts vindoline and catharanthine with a 10,3 -linkage. V. is a cytostatically active trace alkaloid and is accompanied by demethylated, deformylated, and deacety-lated alkaloids. V. also occurs in other Catharanthus species such as C. ovalis. C. longifolius, C. trichophyl-lus. It is one of the most important monoterpenoid indole alkaloids. 

Catharanthus is a perennial plant belonging to the Apocynaceae family and comprises eight species, seven endemic to Madagascar (C. coriaceus, C. lanceus, C. longifolius, C. ovalis, C. roseus, C. scitulus, C. trichophyllus), and one, C. pusillus, from India. Specifically, C. roseus has been extensively cultivated in subtropical and tropical areas of the world [1] as an ornamental plant and now has a pantropical distribution. It is naturalized in continental Africa, the North and South America, Asia, Australia and southern Europe, and on some islands in the Pacific Ocean. Today, more than 100 cultivars are commercially available. 

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