PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF CATHARANTHUS ROSEUS: A PERSPECTIVE REVIEW

Abstract

India possess a rich biodiversity of the medicinal plants that were still not explored completely. The need for the novel pharmaceutical products out from the plant has attained a great interest  in the present research world due to the cost and the higher side effects that are associated with the chemically manufactured drugs. Catharanthus roseus,which is a potent medicinal plant many of the pharmacological actions such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anthelmintic, antifeedant, antisterility, antidiarrheal, antidiabetic effect etc. That is used to treat many of the fatal diseases. Alkaloids were the major phytochemical constituent of the above medicinal plant and have different types possessing various medicinal uses. The pharmacology of the plant was found to be associated mostly especially with the alkaloids that occupies almost most of the parts of the plant. In this review, an attempt has been made to summarize the pharmacological effect of the above plant against various disease starting from the antimicrobial to that of the antineoplastic diseases in a precise way to help the scientist and learners to understand the basis medicinal value of the plant.