Stephania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menispermaceae, native to eastern and southern Asia and Australia. They are herbaceous perennial vines, growing to around four metres tall, with a large tuber. The leaves are arranged spirally on the stem and are peltate, with the leaf petiole attached near the centre of the leaf. The name Stephania comes from the Greek, "a crown". This refers to the anthers being arranged in a crown-like manner.[1]
| Stephania | |
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| Stephania cephalantha | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Menispermaceae |
| Subfamily: | Menispermoideae |
| Genus: | Stephania Lour. |
One species, S. tetrandra, is among the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is called han fang ji (漢防己, "Chinese fang ji"). Other plants named fang ji are sometimes substituted for it. Other varieties substituted include Cocculus thunbergii, C. trulobus, Aristolochia fangchi, Stephania tetrandria, and Sinomenium acutum. Notable among these is guang fang ji (廣防己, "(GuangDong, GuangXi) fang ji", Aristolochia fangchi. Because of its toxicity, it is used in TCM only with great caution.
Selected species
editThere are about 45 species in the genus Stephania, native to the Far East and Australasia.[2] Species include:[3]
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- Fossil species
- Stephania palaeosudamericana Herrera et al.
- Synonyms
- Stephania erecta Craib (syn. Stephania pierrei Diels)[4]
Toxicity
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There is evidence that a few species of Stephania are toxic.[5] However, the most commonly available species in the United States, Stephania tetrandra, has not been shown to be toxic. Any confusion regarding the possible toxicity of Stephania tetrandra was entirely due to an inadvertent shipment of Aristolochia fangchi sent in its stead to a Belgian clinic in 1993. The errant batch of Aristolochia was later confirmed via phytochemical analysis.[6]
Chemistry
editChemical investigation of Stephania rotunda Lour. growing in Vietnam in 2005 led to the isolation and structural elucidation of three new alkaloids, 5-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxy-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-one, thaicanine 4-O-beta-D-glucoside, as well as (−)-thaicanine N-oxide (4-hydroxycorynoxidine), along with 23 known alkaloids.[7]
References
edit- ^ Les Robinson (2003). Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney. Kangaroo Press. p. 336. ISBN 978-0-7318-1211-0.
- ^ Forman, L. L. (1988). "A Synopsis of Thai Menispermaceae". Kew Bulletin. 43 (3). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: 369–407. Bibcode:1988KewBu..43..369F. doi:10.2307/4118970. JSTOR 4118970.
- ^ GRIN. "GRIN Species Records of genus Stephania". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
- ^ William Grant Craib, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1922(8): 229, 1922. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11492328
- ^ [1] Journal of Ethnopharmacology 132 (2010). p. 380
- ^ Nunez, Kelvin R. (2006). Trends in Kidney Cancer Research. Vol. 18. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers. p. 78. ISBN 1-59454-141-8.
- ^ Thuy, T. T; Porzel, A.; Franke, K.; Wessjohann, L.; Sung, T. V. (September 2005). "Isoquinolone and protoberberine alkaloids from Stephania rotunda". Die Pharmazie. 60 (9): 701–704. PMID 16222872.
External links
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- "Stephania Lour". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
- Introduction to Rotundine
- Flora of China: Stephania species list
- Flora of Nepal: Stephania species list