The First Global Report on the Alkaloid Aspidospermidine in <i>Vinca herbacea</i> : A Potential Source of Anticancer Alkaloid Precursors

Vinca herbacea Waldst. &amp; Kit., a rare perennial species of the Apocynaceae family, is distributed across temperate regions of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. However, its presence in Iran is restricted to a few recorded sites. This plant remains poorly investigated despite the extensive study of other Vinca species. The present research collected aerial parts of Vinca herbacea from Mazandaran Province, Iran, and subjected them to phytochemical analysis. The propanol extract was analyzed using GC-MS, which revealed several chemical constituents. Aspidospermidine was identified in the leaf extract at a retention time of 42.74 min, representing 2.73% of the total compounds, with a 96% quality match to the NIST library. No Aspidospermidine was detected in stems or flowers. This finding constitutes the first global report of Aspidospermidine in Vinca herbacea, expanding its phytochemical profile and highlighting its potential as a natural source of pharmacologically important indole monoterpenoid alkaloids (IMAs) with anticancer and antimicrobial relevance.