Pharmaceutical botanical and phytochemical researches on some taxa belonging to the Vinca L. genus grown in Turkey

Vinca L. (Cezayir Menekşesi) is the genus of the Apocynaceae family six taxas, two of which are endemic, belong to this genus show natural distribution. In this study, Vinca minor L. species and Vinca major subsp. major L. subspecies were investigated comparatively in terms of, morphological, anatomical and phytochemical specialities. In morphological studies; Vinca L. taxa; the characters of roots, stem, leaves and flowers were examined and morphological descriptions were prepared and their drawings were made. In anatomical studies; root, stem and leaf cross-section were also examined by taking upper and lower superficial sections from the leaf. In chemical studies; GC and GC/MS study was performed with essential oils taken from herba. Morphological and anatomical studies among taxas showed there were no evident differences. As a result of phytochemical studies, -caryophyllene and hexadecanoic acid were the main compound for both taxa.