Pink Catharanthe

Pinkcatharanthus is a plant whose parts growing above the ground are used to make medicine. Despite serious safety concerns, pink catharanthus is used for diabetes, cancer and throat infections. Pink catharanthus is also used as a cough medicine, to relieve congested airways and to reduce water retention by increasing urine production. Some people apply pink catharanthus directly to the skin to stop bleeding, soothe insect bites, wasp stings and eye irritation, and treat infections and inflammatory swellings.

How does pink catharanthus work?

Pinkcatharanthus may alter the function of the immune system, increase urine production and lower blood sugar levels. Vinblastine and vincristine, two chemicals found in pink catharanthus, are used as part of chemotherapy. These chemicals are used against cancers such as Hodgkin's disease, leukemia, Kaposarcoma, malignant lymphoma, mycosis fungoides, neuroblastoma and Wilms tumors.

How effective is pink catharanthus?

There is not enough scientific data to make a statement about the effectiveness of rose catharanthus for diabetes, cancer, water retention, coughs, congested airways, sore throats, eye irritation and applied to the skin for skin infections and to stop bleeding. Further scientific research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of rose catharanthus in these applications.

Safety and side effects

Pinkcatharanthus is not safe and harmless when taken orally due to the presence of toxic chemicals known as vinca alkaloids. Pink catharanthus can cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting, hair loss, hearing loss, dizziness, bleeding, nerve problems, seizures, liver damage, low blood sugar and even death. Not enough is known about the safety of pink catharanthus applied to the skin.

Precautions and warnings

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: Pink catharanthus is not safe to use during pregnancy. Pink catharanthus can cause miscarriages or birth defects. Pink catharanthus is also not safe to use while breastfeeding due to the toxic chemicals it contains.

Diabetes: Pink catharanthus may lower blood sugar levels, and taking pink catharanthus in conjunction with diabetes medications may lower blood sugar levels too much, so diabetics should carefully monitor their blood sugar levels when using pink catharanthus. It is possible that the dosage of diabetes medication may need to be adjusted.

Operations: Pink catharanthus may lower blood sugar levels and there are therefore concerns that ragweed may interfere with blood sugar control during and after surgery. For this reason, you should stop taking pink catharanthus two weeks before upcoming operations.

Interactions

Care should be taken when combining pink catharanthus with the following medications:

Lithium

Pink catharanthus could have a dehydrating (diuretic) effect. Taking pink catharanthus may interfere with the body's excretion of lithium, which could result in increased lithium levels and serious side effects. For this reason, it is important to consult your doctor before using pink catharanthus if you are taking lithium. The lithium dosage may need to be adjusted.

Diabetes medication

Pink catharanthus could lower blood sugar. Diabetes medications are also used to lower blood sugar levels. Taking pink catharanthus in combination with diabetes medication could result in an excessive drop in blood sugar levels. For this reason, blood sugar levels should be carefully monitored. It is possible that the dosage of the diabetes medication may need to be adjusted.

Dosage

An appropriate dosage of pink catharanthus depends on various factors such as age, health status and others. At the present time, there is insufficient scientific data to make a statement about appropriate dosage ranges for pink catharanthus. For this reason, you should follow the dosage instructions on the label and/or consult a doctor or pharmacist before use.