YahGarden

Herb library · Herb · Vinca minor

Periwinkle (lesser periwinkle)

A trailing evergreen groundcover with blue flowers, an old European astringent herb that contains the alkaloid vincamine. The herb itself has not been studied in people; the supplement vinpocetine is a synthetic drug made from vincamine and carries an FDA pregnancy warning.

Traditional use

In 17th-century England Culpeper called periwinkle "a great binder" and recorded its leaves chewed to stop bleeding from the mouth and nose, and the French using it for heavy menstrual flow. A 2010 lab study notes its long use in European folk medicine for memory and brain complaints.

What studies show

No studies in people of this herb on its own yet. What is known of it comes from the traditions that use it.

  • Insufficient

    Memory, circulation and bleeding: no studies of the herb itself in people were found. Its alkaloids kill cancer cells in lab dishes. Studies in people of vincamine and vinpocetine test isolated or synthetic drugs, not the herb.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • PregnancyDo not use it in pregnancy or if you could become pregnant. The FDA warns that vinpocetine, a synthetic compound derived from vincamine in this plant, may cause miscarriage or harm fetal development. The herb's own safety in pregnancy is unknown.
  • NoteIts alkaloids are toxic to cells in the lab. There is no tested safe dose.
  • NoteDo not confuse it with Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), a different plant.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“The Periwinkle is a great binder, stays bleeding both at mouth and nose, if some of the leaves be chewed.”
Nicholas Culpeper, Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), p. 139. See the page of Culpeper's Complete Herbal, p. 139 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Culpeper's Complete Herbal, p. 139

Sources

  1. Vinpocetine in Dietary Supplements (FDA) (opens in a new tab) · FDA · read September 25, 2026
  2. Cytotoxicity of Vinca minor (Pharm Biol, 2010) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Assessment of likelihood ratio for four contact dermatitis symptoms of Vinca minor (homeopathy, Homeopathy, 2018) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.