Biological activities of Catharanthus roseus leaf extract

Current research in drug discovery from medicinal plants involves an ultifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, biological, and molecular techniques. Medicinal plant drug discovery continues to provide new and important leads against various pharmacological targets. The plant extract were screened for antimicrobial activity against different species by the agar well diffusion assay. The aqueous extracts of Catharanthus roseus were found active against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The antiangiogenic efficacy of Catharanthus roseus leaf extract was examined in vivo in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model by using fertilized eggs. Decreases in the density of the capillaries were assessed and scored. The results showed scores of 0.5 for 5 ¿g , score 2.0 for 10 ¿g extract have an inhibitory effect on angiogenesis. These results were also confirmed by the inhibition indicates that this crude extract have antiangiogenic action. The anticancer activity of extract also showed significant activity.