Tripterygium wilfordii is a traditional Chinese medical plant used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. The main bioactive compounds of the plant are diterpenoids and triterpenoids. 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase (HMGS) catalyses the reaction of acetoacetyl-CoA to 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA, which is the first committed enzyme in the mevalonate (MVA) pathway. The sequence info...

Triptolide is an important active component of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TWHF) and possesses anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive, male anti-fertility, and anticancer properties. A new method combining different techniques, including solid-liquid extraction, liquid-liquid partition, column chromatography and high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) but avoiding the use of chlorofo...

Two new dimacrolide sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloids (DMSPAs), dimacroregelines A (1) and B (2), were isolated from the stems of Tripterygium regelii. The structures of both compounds were characterized by extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses, as well as HRESIMS data. Compounds 1 and 2 are two rare DMSPAs possessing unique 2-(3'-carboxybutyl)-3-furanoic acid units forming the second m...

Extracts of Tripterygium wilfordii hook. f. (leigong teng, Thundergod vine) are effective in traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of immune inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, nephritis and asthma. Characterisation of the terpenoids present in extracts of Tripterygium identified triptolide, a diterpenoid triepoxide, as responsible for most o...

[This corrects the article on p. 402 in vol. 7, PMID: 27877128.].

Two new sesquiterpene alkaloids, 1beta-hydroxy-2beta,5alpha,11-triacetoxy-7beta-nicotinoyl-8beta-benzoyl-dihydroagarofuran, and 1beta,5alpha,11-triacetoxy-7beta-nicotinoyl-8beta-benzoyl-dihydroagarofuran were isolated from the xylem of Tripterygium wilfordii, together with six known compounds. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies.

nial twining vine, grows densely on the shaded hill slopes in southern China. The extracts of the roots of the plant have been used in traditional Chinese medicine (named Lei-gongteng in Chinese) for the treatment of autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and skin diseases for many years. A number of diterpenoids and triterpenoids have been isolated fro...