''Tripterygium regelii'', or Regel's threewingnut (

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: Dongbei Leigongteng), is a rambling, shrubby perennial deciduous yellow vine native to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

, Japan and

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym "Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East ( Outer ...

. It grows to about . Small very pretty yellowish white or white flowers appear in May–June and are produced on . long

panicles A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are ...

, and smell somewhat of new-mown hay. Fruits are greenish white, 3-angled, and winged.

"''Tripterygium wilfordii'' Hook.f., known as Leigongteng (Thunder God Vine) in traditional Chinese medicine, has attracted much attention for its applications in relieving
autoimmune disorders An autoimmune disease is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a functioning body part. At least 80 types of autoimmune diseases have been identified, with some evidence suggesting that there may be more than 100 types. Nearly a ...
such as
rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and ...
and
systemic lupus erythematosus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...
, and for treating cancer. Molecular analyses of the ITS and 5S rDNA sequences indicate that ''T. hypoglaucum'' and ''T. doianum'' are not distinct from ''T. wilfordii'', while ''T. regelii'' should be recognized as a separate species. The results also demonstrate potential value of rDNA sequence data in forensic detection of adulterants derived from ''Celastrus angulatus'' in commercial samples of Leigongteng."

Certain extracts from ''

Tripterygium wilfordii ''Tripterygium wilfordii'', or ''léi gōng téng'' (Mandarin) (, Japanese: ''raikōtō''), sometimes called thunder god vine but more properly translated thunder duke vine, is a vine used in traditional Chinese medicine. ''Tripterygium wilfordi ...

'', as well as from ''Tripterygium hypoglaucum'' (now considered identical to ''T. regelii'') and ''Tripterygium regelii'', were discovered in the 1980s to have temporary antifertility effects, which has led to research on its potential as a

contraceptive Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth cont ...

. ''Tripterygium regelii'' is listed as a poisonous plant in the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

Poisonous Plant Database.

Footnotes

References

Downloadable PDF - "Molecular analyses of the Chinese herb Leigongteng (''Tripterygium wilfordii'' Hook.f.)" (2010). Sue Ka-Yee Law et al. ''Phytochemistry'' 72 (2011) 21–26, Elsevier.

External links

BackyardGardener.com

List of articles examining medicinal properties of ''T. regelii''.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7843804 Celastraceae Medicinal plants