Biology:Stephania
Stephania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menispermaceae. It includes 70 species native to tropical and southern Africa, eastern and southern Asia, Australia, and the tropical Pacific Islands.[1][2] 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.[3]
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.
Species
70 species are accepted.[1][4][5]
- Stephania dictyoneura Stephania dielsiana
- Stephania dinklagei Stephania dolichopoda
- Stephania ebracteata Stephania elegans
- Stephania epigaea Stephania excentrica
- Stephania formanii Stephania glandulifera
- Stephania gracilenta Stephania grandiflora
- Stephania hainanensis Stephania herbacea
- Stephania intermedia Stephania japonica
- Jenjitt. & Ruchis. H.S.Lo
- Lour. H.S.Lo & M.Yang
- Diels Diels
- Forman Kundu & S.Guha
- Craib Craib
- N.H.Xia & V.T.Chinh Forman
- Lour. Diels
- H.S.Lo H.S.Lo
- (Blume) Spreng. Miq.
- Stephania abyssinica (Quart.-Dill. & A.Rich.) Walp.
- Stephania viridiflavens Stephania andamanica
- Diels Stephania kuinanensis
- Stephania lincangensis Stephania longipes
- Stephania bancroftii Stephania micrantha
- Stephania miyiensis Stephania montana
- F.M.Bailey Stephania officinarum
- Stephania pierrei Stephania psilophylla
- Stephania brachyandra Stephania salomonum
- Stephania suberosa Stephania succifera
- Diels H.S.Lo & M.Yang
- Stephania brevipedunculata C.Y.Wu & D.D.Tao
- Stephania brevipes Craib
- Stephania cambodica Gagnep.
- Stephania capitata (Blume) Spreng.
- Stephania cephalantha Hayata
- Stephania chingtungensis H.S.Lo
- Stephania corymbosa (Blume) Walp.
- Stephania crebra Forman
- Stephania cyanantha Welw. ex Hiern
- Stephania delavayi Diels
- Stephania dentifolia H.S.Lo & M.Yang
- Stephania dicentrinifera H.S.Lo & M.Yang
- Diels Y.C.Wu
- (Engl.) Diels Diels
- S.Y.Zhao & H.S.Lo Hook.f. & Thomson
- H.S.Lo H.S.Lo
- Kundu & S.Guha Miers
- Miers Forman
- H.S.Lo & Y.Tsoong Gagnep.
- H.S.Lo (Thunb.) Miers
- H.S.Lo & M.Yang H.S.Lo & M.Yang
- H.S.Lo H.S.Lo & B.N.Chang
- H.S.Lo & M.Yang S.Y.Zhao & H.S.Lo
- Diels Heng C.Wang
- H.S.Lo & M.Yang Diels
- (C.Presl) Forman Forman
- Diels Forman
- H.S.Lo & Y.Tsoong Forman
- (Arn. ex Wight) Dunn Stephania tuberosa
- Stephania yunnanensis Stephania kaweesakii
- Stephania kwangsiensis Stephania longa
- Stephania macrantha Stephania merrillii
- Stephania mildbraedii Stephania moluccana
- Stephania neoguineensis Stephania oblata
- Stephania papillosa Stephania polygona
- Stephania renifolia Stephania rotunda
- Stephania sinica Stephania subpeltata
- Stephania sutchuenensis Forman
- H.S.Lo Stephania zippeliana
- Stephania wightii Stephania venosa
- Stephania tomentella Stephania reticulata
- Stephania novenanthera Stephania mashanica
- Fossil species
- Stephania palaeosudamericana Herrera et al.
- Formerly placed here
- Botryodiscia tetrandra (S.Moore) L.Lian & Wei Wang (as Stephania tetrandra S.Moore)[6]
Toxicity

There is evidence that a few species of Stephania are toxic.[7] 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.[8]
Chemistry
Chemical 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.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Stephania Lour.". The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d.. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:27017-1.
- ↑ "Stephania Lour.". Species 2000. n.d.. https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/645YR.
- ↑ 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 (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) 43 (3): 369–407. doi:10.2307/4118970. Bibcode: 1988KewBu..43..369F.
- ↑ GRIN. "GRIN Species Records of genus Stephania". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?11553. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Botryodiscia tetrandra (S.Moore) L.Lian & Wei Wang". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77350779-1.
- ↑ [1] Journal of Ethnopharmacology 132 (2010). p. 380
- ↑ Nunez, Kelvin R. (2006). Trends in Kidney Cancer Research. 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
- "Stephania Lour.". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?taxon_id=14346.
- Introduction to Rotundine
- Flora of China: Stephania species list
- Flora of Nepal: Stephania species list
Wikidata ☰ Q311127 entry
