• cancer chemotherapy

    TITLE: angiosperm: Significance to humans
    SECTION: Significance to humans
    ...from Cinchona (Rubiaceae) bark. Some angiosperm compounds that are highly toxic to humans have proved to be effective in the treatment of certain forms of cancer, such as acute leukemia (vincristine from the Madagascar periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus; Apocynaceae), and of heart problems (digitalis from foxglove, Digitalis purpurea; Plantaginaceae). Muscle relaxants...
    TITLE: drug: Anticancer drugs
    SECTION: Anticancer drugs
    ...first compound in this class was isolated from the Chinese camptotheca tree. Irinotecan and topotecan are used in the treatment of colorectal, ovarian, and small-cell lung cancer. Vinblastine and vincristine (vinca alkaloids), derived from the periwinkle plant, along with etoposide, act primarily to stop spindle formation within the dividing cell during DNA replication and cell division....
  • source

    TITLE: alkaloid
    ...tubocurarine is the active ingredient in the South American arrow poison, curare (obtained from Chondrodendron tomentosum), and is used as a muscle relaxant in surgery. Two alkaloids, vincristine and vinblastine (from Vinca rosea), are widely used as chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of many types of cancer.