What it is:
This herb is the whole plant of catha-ranthi roseus (familyApocynaceae), which is distributed in most provinces south of the Yangtze River. It is collected all year round.

Property:
Slightly bitter in flavour, cool in property, poisonous.

Effects:
Lowering blood in the mind, clearing away heat, inducing antiphlogistic and anticarci-nogenic.

Used for:
1. Hodgkin's disease, chorioepi-thelioma, lymphosarcoma, reticulum cell sarcoma, acute leukemia, mammary Cancer, oophoroma, nephroblastoma, oral carcinoma, lung carcinoma and malignant melanoma.
(A)For blood stasis, excessive noxious heat in leukemia, it is often used with catch weed bedstraw, black nightshade, natural indigo and others.
(B) For Hodgkin's disease andchorioepithelioma, vinblastine, an alkaloid extracted from the herb, is used.
(C) For acute lymphatic leukemia and malignant lymphatic tumour, vincristine, another alkaloid extracted from the herb, is often used.

2. With the functions of lowering blood pressure, dilating coronary vessel and lowering blood sugar, it is used in hypertension and diabetes.

3. For burns and scalds, it is mainly applied externally. D