الفهرس 
INRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
1. INTRODUCTION
Herbal medicines have always occupied the nuclear place in every traditional system of medicine be it Ayurveda, Unani or Sidtha. More than 21,000 plants have been listed by World Health Organization (WHO) for possessing medicinal value. The utilization of medicinal plants as a natural source of drugs is being increasingly encouraged (Di-Cosmo, 1990 and Phillipson, 1990). Consequently, medicinal plants have been targeted for uncontrolled collection and destruction as a result of urbanization, overgrazing, pollution and expansion of cultivated areas (Namedo, 2007). Plant secondary metabolism gives rise to the formation of a vast array of chemically complex compounds, many of which are commercially important.
Catharanthus roseus L. (Madagascar periwinkle) have several synonyms viz., Vinca rosea, Ammocallis rosea and Lochnera rosea (commonly known as sadabahar or Periwinkle, family apocynaceae). The chromosome number of all species of the genus Catharanthus is 2n =16 (Mendioro et al, 2005) .
Catharanthus roseus is an evergreen sub herb or herbaceous plant. A native to Madagascar, this herbaceous plant grows to 80 cm to 1 m high and blooms continuously year-round with pink, purple, or white flowers (Hogan, 2003).
Catharanthus roseus is native to the Indian Ocean Island of Madagascar. In many tropical and subtropical regions