[Advances in the study of vincristine: an anticancer ingredient from Catharanthus roseus]

Vincristine is a dimer-indo-alkaloid which is extracted from the leaves of Catharanthus roseus. It is effective to treat acute lymphocytic cell leukemia, Hodgkin disease and non-Hodgkin disease clinically. But the severe side effects, such as neurotoxic and tissue damage, limit its application. In this paper, we summarize physical, chemical, pharmacological and pharmacokinetical properties of VCR and advances in decreasing its side effects. In clinic, association with other medication is adopted. In pharmaceutics, people adopt some new methods and technology such as conjugation with the antibody, encapsulation in liposomes or controlled release films.