Vinca alkaloids
Vinca alkaloids are phytonutrients from the group of alkaloids , which essentially occur in two closely related genera of the dog poison family :
- The rose-colored Catharanthe belonging to the genus Catharanthus ( Catharanthus roseus , synonym Vinca rosea ; Madagascar periwinkle) contains mainly vindoline as genuine alkaloids , as well as vinblastine and vincristine . Vinblastine itself is also the starting substance of the semi-synthetic derivatives vindesine and vinorelbine . In addition to the pharmacologically inactive vindoline all as a drug in the chemotherapy of cancer used diseases. Their active principle is the disruption of cell division as aneugen .
- The genus Vinca includes various periwinkle species that mainly supply vincamine as alkaloid . The pharmaceutical parent plant is the small periwinkle ( Vinca minor ), which is no longer used medicinally as a drug . In addition, there are partially synthetically produced derivatives such as vinpocetine , brovincamine , vinconate , vinburnine and vindeburnol . Vincamine and its derivatives promote peripheral blood circulation, e.g. B. in the brain as well as the eye and inner ear . Vinpocetine is said to improve brain metabolism.
The above-mentioned genuine substances are chemically monoterpene - indole alkaloids , all of which have in common a branch of the aspidosperma type in the monoterpene part . As heteromeric bisindole alkaloids, vinblastine and vincristine also contain a monoterpene structure of the iboga type.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry on Catharanthus alkaloids. In: Römpp Online . Georg Thieme Verlag, accessed on June 14, 2014.