The Research Development of a Rare Medicinal Plant: Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg

三叶青(Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg)在我国南方为民间常用药，其全株可入药，特别是块根，具有清热解毒、消炎、抗病毒、活血化瘀等功效，主要用于发烧、小儿高热惊厥、肺炎等的治疗。最近，人们发现三叶青在抗肿瘤、抗病毒以及调节免疫力等方面具有显著的疗效。这些研究说明三叶青具有很高的药用研究价值，本文从三叶青的生物学特性、化学成分、药理作用、临床应用及生物工程等研究领域阐述相关的研究进展，以期为三叶青的进一步研究提供较为全面的信息。 Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg (Vitaceae) is a folk and rare medicinal plant, and specifically, it is distributed in the south, China. As a popular folk medicine, the entire herb, especially, its root has some medical properties, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-virus, detoxification and antipyretic. It is mainly used for the treatment of fevers, children convulsions, pneumonia, etc. Astoundingly, it has been reported recently that T. hemsleyanum has significantly curative effects in terms of anti-tumor, anti-virus, immune regulation. In this paper, we reviewed biological characteristics, chemical components, pharmacologic actions, clinical applications and bioengineering of T. hemsleyanum, and the aim is to gather all the possible references to help scientists in future study.