Rose Periwinkle As Herbal Medicine

There are several Rose periwinkle plants grown in my backyard. Some of the plants have red flowers, and the others have white flowers.

Rose periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) is widely planted as an ornamental plant. It often distinguished by its flower color. Upright shrub that can reach heights up to 100 cm, is actually a common wild plant that thrives in desert or tropical rural areas. Rose periwinkle plants have a round stem with small diameter, woody, segmented and branched and hairy. The leaves are oval to oblong, 2.5–9 cm long and 1–3.5 cm broad, glossy green, hairless, with a pale midrib and a short petiole 1–1.8 cm long; they are arranged in opposite pairs; and is classified as a single leaf. The flowers are white to dark pink, with a basal tube 2.5-3 cm long and a corolla 2–5 cm diameter with five petal-like lobes. Rose periwinkle has a cylindrical shaped seed house hanging on the rod, 2–4 cm long and 3 mm broad. The spread of these plants through seed.

Scientific classification of rose periwinkle, as stated in Plantamor.com, can be seen below:

Scientific classification of rose periwinkle
Kingdom: Plantae (Plants)
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta (vascular plants)
Super Division: spermatophytes (Generate seed)
Division: Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
Class: Magnoliopsida (seed pieces to two or dicots)
Sub Class: Asteridae
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Catharanthus
Species: Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don

In Indonesia, this plant has several names such as tapak dara, kembang sari cina, kembang tembaga beureum, rutu-rutu, kembang serdadu, etc. In China, this plant is called by the name of Chang Chun Hua. In Malaysia it called by the name Kemunting China, rumput jalang. In Vietnam it known as hoa hai dang, and in Philippines is known as Tsitsirika. While other English names occasionally used include Cape Periwinkle, Madagascar Periwinkle, Rosy Periwinkle, and Old-maid. Synonym names include Vinca rosea, Ammocallis rosea, and Lochnera rosea.

Rose periwinkle is an ornamental plant that can be used as an herbal medicine. Roots, stems, leaves, flowers of rose periwinkle contain chemical compounds which are useful to treat some diseases. Rose periwinkle chemical compunds (alkaloids), among others, is vincristine, vinrosidine, vinblastine and vinleurosine. Vinblastine and vincristine are compounds that can stop cancer cell mitosis at metaphase.

This medicinal plant can be used to treat diabetes, hypertension, leukemia, asthma, bronchitis, fever, stomach ulcers, dysentery, anemia, mumps, abscesses, ulcers, burns, wounds, swelling.

Some Traditional Indonesian herbal medicine of Rose Periwinkle

Diabetes mellitus
a. Ingredients: 10-16 leaves of rose periwinkle
How to prepare: boil the leaves with three glasses of water until remaining 1 glass of water
How to use: drink water after it was cold, repeated until healed

b. Ingredients: 35-45 grams of dried leaves of rose periwinkle, fennel pulawaras
How to prepare: boil the leaves with three glasses of water until remaining 1 glass of water
How to use: drink water after it was cold, repeated until healed

c. Ingredients: 3 leaves of rose periwinkle, 15 flowers of rose periwinkle
How to prepare: boil the ingredients with 4 glasses of water until remaining 1.5 glasses of water
How to use: drink the water in the morning and evening after meals

Hypertension (high blood pressure)
a. Ingredients: 15-20 grams of dried leaves of rose periwinkle, 10 grams of chrysanthemum flowers
How to prepare: boil the ingredients with 2.5 glasses of water to boiling and filtered.
How to use: drink water every afternoon.

b. Ingredients: 7 leaves or flowers of rose periwinkle
How to prepare: brewing the ingredients with 1 glass of hot water, let a few moments and then filter
How to use: drink before bed.

Leukemia
Ingredients: 20-25 grams of dried leaves of rose periwinkle, fennel pulawaras.
How to prepare: boil the ingredients with 1 liter of water and filtered.
How to use: drink two times a day, morning and afternoon.

Asthma and bronchitis
Ingredients: 1 root of rose periwinkle
How to prepare: boil the root with five glasses of water.
How to use: drink two times a day, morning and afternoon.

Fever
Ingredients: 1 handheld (12 -20 grams) of leaves of rose periwinkle, three pieces of stem and roots of rose periwinkle
How to prepare: boil the ingredients with 4 glasses of water to boiling until remaining 1.5 glasses of water.
How to use: drink the water in the morning and afternoon with coconut sugar added.

Inflammation of the stomach and dysentery
Ingredients: 15-30 grams of dried leaves of rose periwinkle
How to prepare: boil the ingredients with 3 glasses of water to boiling.
How to use: drink the water in the morning and afternoon with coconut sugar added.

Anemia
Ingredients: 4 white rose periwinkle flower buds.
How to prepare: Soak the ingredients with 1 glass of water, then put it outside home overnight.
How to use: drink the water in the morning and do it regularly.

Shaking hands
Ingredients: 4-7 leaves of rose periwinkle
How to prepare: brewing the ingredients with 1 glass of hot water and filtered.
How to use: drink water as usual.

Mumps, swelling, abscesses and ulcers
Ingredients: 1 handheld of leaves of rose periwinkle
How to prepare: finely ground.
How to use: put on the affected part.

Burns
Ingredients: a few leaves of rose periwinkle, 0.5 handfuls of rice.
How to prepare: Soak the ingredients with water, then mashed until smooth.
How to use: put on the burns.

New wound
Ingredients: 2-5 leaves of rose periwinkle
How to prepare: chewed until soft.
How to use: put on the wound.

Notes:

Pregnant women are prohibited from taking the herbal medicine of Rose periwinkle.

Not all indications are listed can be cured with medicinal plants. This is because the properties of medicinal plants depends on their chemical content, and their chemical content can vary by region or country depending on the climate, altitude, soil type, treatment at planting (except for wild plants), and so forth. Also, how processing affects the usefulness. For example there should be brewed (infusion), should be boiled in a certain period, or must be in tim. If the medicine consists of several mixtures, such as seeds, bark, leaves, flowers, roots and tubers, sometimes there are parts that must be boiled first or boiled separately.

Clearly, the use of medicinal plants is not as simple as people think so far. Everything must be learned and requires its own experience. Wrong in identifying medicinal plants will also not cure the disease. Moreover, if wrong in combining several medicinal plants that have opposite properties.