Background: Catharanthus roseus, commonly known as Madagascar periwinkle, vinca rosea or sadabahar, is a plant belonging to Apocynaceae family. This plant is recognized for its medicinal potentials against various diseases such as, cancer, diabetes, inflammation, ulcers, bacterial infections, viral infections, tumurogenesis etc. Unless the correct identification of such medicinal gems, their potentials cannot be explored and utilized. For this purpose, DNA barcoding using reliable markers, such as rbcL  gene plays a demanding role.

Methology: In this study, rbcL was used as a potential identification marker. DNA was extracted from fresh leaves, selected region i.e. rbcL was amplified, and amplicon was sequenced. The resulting sequence was compared with the sequence available in NCBI Genbank. Phylogenetic linkage was developed to characterize and confirm taxonomic position of Catharanthus roseus.

Results: The rbcL barcode employed in this study provided sufficient resolution to authenticate C. roseus and to distinguish it from its close relatives. The resulting rbcL sequence showed high similarity with corresponding sequences obtained from NCBI, placing C. roseus in a clade within Apocynaceae family. Gene was published in NCBI database Genbank with accession number PP706114.

Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first evidence of DNA barcoding of Catharanthus roseus in Pakistani specie. Our findings in this paper authenticate and demonstrate that rbcL is an effective marker for identification of Catharanthus roseus. It facilitates and enhances our ability to correctly identify plant species that hold prominent position in herbal medicine and ensure their integrity in medicinal research.

Keywords: Catharanthus roseus, DNA Barcoding, Madagascar periwinkle,  Phylogenetic analysis,  rbcL, Specie identification