Madagascar periwinkle, rosy periwinkle, or tapak dara in Indonesia, is a species of flowering plant that grows in the tropics. This plant from Madagascar has varieties of attractive colors, including white, pink and purple. In addition to its beautiful colors, it turns out that this plant is beneficial in the fight against cancer.

In 1950, Canadian scientists discovered that vinblastine, a chemical compound in Madagascar periwinkle, could interfere with cancer cell proliferation. The use of this chemical compound has been tested against breast, ovarian, and lung cancer. The World Health Organisation (WHO) list it as an essential medicine, classing it as one of "the most efficacious, safe, and cost-effective medicines for priority conditions.”

To get 1 gram of vinblastine, it requires 500 kg of dried Madagascar periwinkle leaves. This causes the price of the drug to be expensive. To overcome this problem, scientists have been doing research for about 60 years on the formation process of vinblastine. They hope that vinblastine can be recreated in a laboratory, thus lowering the price of cancer medication. Until recent years, researchers have not been able to find the last enzyme necessary in the formation of vinblastine.

Finally, Dr Lorenzo Caputi and his team at Prof Sarah O'Connor's laboratory at the John Innes Centre in Norfolk, United Kingdom — in conjunction with scientists at the Courdavault group based in Tours, France — have described the last piece of the puzzle. After conducting a series of studies in several countries, they found that two enzymes play important roles in the final step of vinblastine synthesis, namely catharanthine and tabersonine.

In this research, Madagascar periwinkle could produce vinblastine after going through 31 steps of chemical reaction. The scientists hope this discovery can increase the production of vinblastine, either artificially or naturally, by placing synthetic genes into the host cells.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from readersdigest.ca

Source(s):

• Caputi, L., Franke, J., Farrow, S. C. et all (2018). Missing enzymes in the biosynthesis of the anticancer drug vinblastine in Madagascar periwinkle. Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.aat4100.
• Unlocking the secrets of a cancer-fighting flower (2018), https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321726.php, May 09, 2018.