Catharanthus pusillus

Isolation of the stereospecific strictosidine s)mthase (STS) and formation of strictosidine with the 3a-(S) configuration proved conclusively that this was the natural precursor of the terpenoid indole alkaloids. Strictosidine occurs naturally in Rhazya stricta and the synthase has been isolated from a number of other species Amsonia salicifolia, A. tabemaemontam, Catharanthus pusillus, C. roseus, Rauvolfia verticillata, R. vomitoria, R. serpentina, Rhazya orientalis and Voacanga africana. The enzyme has been purified to homogeneity from R. serpentina (Hampp and Zenk, 1988). A comparison of the activity of STS from C. roseus roots, the only portion of the plant to contain ajmalicine, with that present in plant cell cultures producing the same alkaloid demonstrated that the plant cell cultures are far more metabolically active (Ziegler and Facchini, 2008). 

Catharanthus pusillus (Murr.) G. Don [= Finco pusilla Murr., = Lochnera pusilla (Murr.)... 

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... 

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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