Chinese scientists have extracted a medicinal compound from the natural herb, thunder god vine, which targets cell metabolism¹ and could help tackle obesity².

 

中国科学家从一种天然药草雷公藤中提取一种药物化合物，该化合物可以调节细胞代谢并用于治疗肥胖。

 

Celastrol, extracted from thunder god vine, and artemisinin, developed from sweet wormwood, are among five herbal compounds listed by the scientific journal Cell to have the most potential to treat illnesses where no cure has been discovered, such as cancer.

 

The discovery of artemisinin won Chinese scientist Tu Youyou a Nobel Prize in 2015.

 

The research team led by Zhang Xiaokun, professor with the College of Medicine at Xiamen University, found that celastrol from the thunder god vine could clear inflamed³ mitochondria from cells to alleviate⁴ inflammation.

 

Mitochondria plays an integral role in cell death, immunity⁵ and inflammation. By affecting inflamed mitochondria, celastrol can help control cell metabolism.

 

The team carried out the research on mice, and found that celastrol could effectively control weight increases in mice feeding on high fat food.

 

The research paper was published in science journal Molecular⁶ Cell on April 6.

 

Zhang said his team would continue to research how celastrol regulates metabolism to explore new drugs, with low toxicity⁷ and high efficiency, to help people lose weight.

 

His research has been supported by the National Nature and Science Foundation and Xiamen South Sea Center.

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