User:Maria Massaro/Catharanthus roseus

Proposed edits for Catharanthus roseus


 * 1) Organization improvements
 * 2) Combine the synonyms and descriptions tabs by creating a subsection that refers to different varieties of the species of plant and differences between them
 * 3) Maybe create subsections (ornamental, medicinal) under the Uses section
 * 4) Add or incorporate a Research section that outlines the current research efforts utilizing this plant
 * 5) Rename Phytochemistry section to Biology to create a more general section and switch the location to be before the Uses section
 * 6) Content improvements
 * 7) Uses
 * 8) Commercial availability and production using information from this source.
 * 9) Traditionally used to treat ailments such as nose bleeds, wasps stings, muscle relaxation, etc.
 * 10) Research
 * 11) Shortage of alkaloids used in chemotherapies prompted research into the overproduction of alkaloids from this plant
 * 12) Treatment with phythormones
 * 13) Mapping biosynthetic pathway using TFs
 * 14) Biology
 * 15) Biosynthetic pathway information
 * 16) Alkaloid information on vincristine, vinblastine, vindoline, catharanthine, etc.

 Uses 

Traditional Use: "...cultivated for herbal medicine, as it can be traced back to 2600 B.C.E. Mesopotamia."

Replace: "Many of the vinca alkaloids were first isolated from Catharanthus roseus, including vinblastine and vincristine used in the treatment of leukemia and Hodgkin's lymphoma." with "In the 1950s, vinca alkaloids, including vinblastine and vincristine, were isolated from Catharanthus roseus by when screening for anti-diabetic drugs . This chance discovery led to increased research into the chemotheraputic effects of vinblastine and vincristine." Followed by biopiracy statement

Medicinal: Put entire phytochemistry section under this subsection, makes more sense this way

Research: "Despite the medical importance and wide use, the desire alkaloids (vinblastine and vincristine) are naturally produced at very low yields. Additionally, it is complex and costly to synthesize the desired products in a lab, resulting in difficulty satisfying the demand and a need for overproduction . Treatment of the plant with phytohormones, such as salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate, have been shown to trigger defense mechanisms and overproduce downstream alkaloids. Studies utilizing this technique vary in growth conditions, choice of phytohormone, and location of treatment. Concurrently, there are various efforts to map the biosynthetic pathway producing the alkaloids to find a direct path to overproduction via genetic engineering  ."

 Biology 

MAYBE: "The defense system of Catharanthus roseus is composed of various pathways that produce metabolites." Describe each pathway, may be too much work.