Common periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus L.) is an important medicinal plant used by the pharmaceutical industry. The present work aimed to determine the effect of low light intensity on the primary and secondary metabolic processes, using various photosynthesis and targeted and untargeted analytical techniques. Growth light had only limited effects on the photosynthetic electron transport processes, although membrane stability seemed slightly higher in plants growing under higher light conditions. The reduced growth light caused a reduction in certain primary metabolites, including amino acids and sugars, and it also reduced the contents of most of the phenolic compounds investigated in the present experiments. Interestingly, the differences in the growth light caused a much less pronounced difference in the alkaloid contents than that found in the flavonoid contents. However, besides the growth light, genotypic differences, most evident in flower colour, also affected some metabolic processes, including primary and secondary processes.

Center for Research and Technology Transfer 10072 Hanoi Vietnam

Department of Horticultural Science Faculty of Agriculture University of Maragheh Maragheh Iran

Department of Plant Biotechnology National Research Centre 33 El Behouth St Dokki P O 12622 Giza Egypt

Department of Plant Physiology and Metabolomics Agricultural Institute Centre for Agricultural Research H 2462 Brunszvik u 2 Martonvásár Hungary

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