Periwinkle

Vinca minor

Family: Apocynaceae Part used: Leaves

Key Compounds

• Vincamine
• Reserpinine
• Carosine
• Vincorine
• Vincristine (trace)
• Tannins
• Ursolic acid
• Rosmarinic acid
• Chlorogenic acid
• Rutin

Traditional Use

• Cerebral circulation and cognitive support — vincamine is the primary alkaloid; it increases cerebral blood flow and oxygen utilisation in laboratory and clinical studies; European pharmacological and clinical research (primarily German and Hungarian) from the 1970s–1990s established vincamine's mechanism; vincamine itself has been used as a pharmaceutical in European countries for age-related cognitive decline and cerebral vascular insufficiency; vinpocetine (synthetic derivative) is used in the same applications as a licensed drug in some countries and as a supplement in others; the evidence base is real but from older European trials, not modern RCTs
• Mild hypotensive — the alkaloid reserpinine has mild antihypertensive properties; traditional European use for mild hypertension; the mechanism involves vasodilation; this application predates the vincamine/cognitive connection and was the earlier traditional use
• Astringent applications — the tannin content provides mild astringency; traditional European folk use as a wound wash, gargle for sore throat, and for minor bleeding; this is the tannin-based mechanism shared with many European medicinal herbs; less prominent than the cerebral circulation application but historically the older folk use
• Tinnitus — vincamine and vinpocetine have been used in European clinical practice for tinnitus (ringing in the ears) associated with cerebrovascular insufficiency; the mechanism is improved blood flow to the inner ear; evidence from Hungarian and German clinical trials supports the application, though not at the level of modern systematic review

There are two plants called periwinkle. One is a European trailing ground cover used as a mild cerebral circulation tonic. The other gave the world vincristine — one of the most important chemotherapy drugs for childhood leukemia.

They are not the same plant.

Catharanthus roseus, Madagascar periwinkle, was classified in the genus Vinca until 1998. The name stuck in oncology: ‘vinca alkaloids’ is still the term for vincristine and vinblastine, even though the source plant has been reclassified. Before those drugs existed, childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia had a survival rate near zero. After, above 80%.

The Vinca minor page does not describe that plant. The Vinca minor alkaloids are cerebral vasodilators. The Catharanthus alkaloids are mitotic spindle inhibitors. Different chemistry, different mechanisms, different plants. The shared common name is a genuine confusion source. This sentence is here because the confusion has consequences.

Meet the plant

A trailing evergreen perennial forming dense mats in European woodland shade. Glossy dark lance-shaped leaves, distinctive five-petalled periwinkle-blue flowers (the colour’s name comes from the plant). Grows throughout temperate Europe, widely used as a garden ground cover. The flowers occasionally appear white or purple.

Vincamine and the cerebral circulation application

Vincamine — isolated from V. minor leaves by Hungarian researchers in the 1950s — increases cerebral blood flow and oxygen utilisation. This mechanism was investigated for age-related cognitive decline and cerebral vascular insufficiency in European clinical research from the 1970s through the 1990s.

The synthetic derivative, vinpocetine (ethyl apovincaminate), was developed by Richter Gedeon in Hungary in the 1970s and is more potent and selective than vincamine. Vinpocetine is:

• Licensed as a pharmaceutical drug in Japan and Hungary
• Sold as a dietary supplement in the United States (though FDA has challenged its supplement classification)
• Used clinically for age-related cognitive decline, tinnitus, and cerebrovascular disease in countries where it is approved

The evidence base is from older European trials and does not meet current systematic review standards. The mechanism is pharmacologically sound. The regulatory status varies by country.

The traditional folk applications

The tannin content and mild astringent properties gave Vinca minor traditional European folk applications for wound healing, sore throat (gargle), and minor bleeding — standard tannin-based applications. These are older traditional uses, predating the pharmacological investigation of vincamine.

The mild hypotensive effect (reserpinine alkaloid) supported a traditional use for mild hypertension, also predating the cognitive application.

What people actually do with it

Leaf infusion (traditional): 1–2 teaspoons dried leaves per cup, steeped 10–15 minutes. 1–2 cups daily. Use under practitioner guidance given alkaloid content.

Tincture: 1–2 mL in water, twice daily. Lower doses than many herbal preparations.

Vinpocetine supplement (contemporary): Where available, standardised vinpocetine supplements (5–10 mg, 3 times daily) are the contemporary approach to the cerebral circulation application. This is a pharmaceutical or supplement product, not an herbal preparation.

Topical (folk use): Cooled infusion as a wound wash or gargle.

Could you grow this yourself?

Yes, and it grows vigorously without encouragement. Vinca minor is one of the most reliable shade ground covers in temperate horticulture. It spreads by runners and forms dense weed-suppressing mats. In some North American woodland contexts it is considered invasive. As a garden plant in its native European range or in cultivation, it requires no attention once established.

Periwinkle (ツルニチニチソウ) in Japan

Japan has a formal pharmaceutical connection: vinpocetine (Vinpocetine) is a licensed drug in Japan, approved for cerebrovascular disease. This means the pharmacological tradition from Vinca minor has Japanese regulatory recognition, even though the Japanese medicinal use is via the synthetic derivative rather than the plant directly.

Vinca minor as an ornamental ground cover (ツルニチニチソウ, ’trailing periwinkle’) is widely grown in Japanese gardens. The plant has no traditional kampo medicinal connection.

Things you’re probably wondering

Can I use periwinkle leaves as a cognitive supplement? The alkaloid content in leaf infusion is variable and difficult to standardise. Contemporary practitioners interested in the cerebral circulation application generally prefer standardised vinpocetine preparations (where available) over the raw herb, precisely because dose standardisation matters with alkaloid-containing plants. The raw herb has traditional support for the astringent applications; for the cognitive application, the derivative is the more controlled option.

Do the chemotherapy vinca alkaloids come from this plant? No. Vincristine and vinblastine — ‘vinca alkaloids’ in oncology — come from Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle), not from Vinca minor. The terminology is historical: Catharanthus roseus was once classified as Vinca rosea, and the alkaloids were named ‘vinca alkaloids’ before the reclassification. The term persisted in oncology after the botanical reclassification.

Botanical details

The full compound list

See Also

• Ginkgo — cerebral circulation herb; better clinical evidence base; often compared
• Rosemary — cerebral circulation and cognitive support through different mechanism
• Hawthorn — cardiovascular herb; overlapping mild hypotensive application

References

• Noble, R.L. et al. (1958). Role of chance observations in chemotherapy: Vinca rosea. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 76, 882–894. (Madagascar periwinkle; contextual)
• Mészáros, Z. (1955). Isolation of vincamine from Vinca minor. (Original vincamine isolation; Hungarian)
• Blumenthal, M. et al. (2000). Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E Monographs. American Botanical Council.
• Szatmari, S.Z. & Whitehouse, P.J. (2003). Vinpocetine for cognitive impairment and dementia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (1), CD003119.