Celastrol

Celastrol (tripterine) is a chemical compound isolated from the root extracts of Tripterygium wilfordii (Thunder god vine) and Celastrus regelii. Celastrol is a pentacyclic triterpenoid and belongs to the family of quinone methides. Celastrol (tripterine) is a chemical compound isolated from the root extracts of Tripterygium wilfordii (Thunder god vine) and Celastrus regelii. Celastrol is a pentacyclic triterpenoid and belongs to the family of quinone methides. In mice, celastrol increase expression of IL1R1, which is the receptor for the cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1). This suggests that celastrol exhibits its anti-obesity effects via a pro-inflammatory signaling pathway, as IL1R1 knock-out mice exposed to celastrol exhibit no leptin-sensitizing or anti-obesity effect. In in vitro and in vivo animal experiments, celastrol exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and insecticidal activities. It has been shown to have obesity-controlling effects in mice. Celastrol has also shown to possess (by inhibition of NF-κB in the hypothalamus) anti-diabetic effects on diabetic nephropathy and improve whole-body insulin resistance