Rhus chinensis Mill. - syn.Rhus semialata Murr. - Anacardiaceae
盐麸木 yan fu mu (chin.), Chinese sumac, Gallensumach

Shrub or tree, up to 10m tall, native in Asia from India to Japan and Malaii; leaves imparipinnately compound, rachis broadly winged (var. chinensis) to wingless (var. roxburghii); leaflets ovate to oblong; flowers white; fruits red, globose, 4-5mm in diameter.
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200012706

„Chinese galls are used in Chinese medicine to treat coughs, diarrhea, night sweats, dysentery and to stop intestinal and uterine bleeding.“
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhus_chinensis

The inhibitory effect of an aqueous extract from the gall of Rhus chinensis (AEGRC) on alpha-glucosidase activity, an enzyme responsible for digestion of carbohydrate to monosaccharides in the process of intestinal absorption, was examined. „AEGRC inhibited Bacillus alpha-glucosidase acitvity with an IC50 of 0.9 μg/ml. Its inhibition on alpha-glucosidase was determined to be noncompetitive and reversible when the enzyme-substrate mixture was simultaneously treated with AEGRC as an inhibitor. In addition, when it was orally administered to rats with sucrose (2 g/kg), AEGRC (250–1000 mg/kg) significantly suppressed the increase of blood glucose levels after sucrose loading in a dose dependent manner. These results suggest that AEGRC might exert anti-diabetic effect by suppressing carbohydrate absorption from intestine, and thereby reducing the postprandial increase of blood glucose.“
[Inhibitory effect of aqueous extract from the gall of Rhus chinensis on alpha-glucosidase activity and postprandial blood glucose., Shim, Y.J., Doo, H.K., Ahn, S.Y., Kim, Y.S., Seong, J.K., Park, I.S., Min, B.H., Journal of ethnopharmacology, Vol.85(2), 2003, 283-287]

The petroleum ether extract of R.chinensis can inhibit the syncytium formation and HIV-1 p24 antigen at non-cytotoxic concentrations, the 50% effective concentration (EC50) were 0.71 and 0.93 μg/ml, respectively.
17 compounds were isolated from the petroleum ether extract. Rhuscholide A (a benzofuran lactone) and dimethylcaffic acid inhibited HIV-1-induced syncytium formation potently with TI value of 42.31 and 19.07, respectively. Dimethylcaffic acid inhibited HIV-1 replication with EC 50 of 7.16 µg/ml and might target at/before integration step.
[Anti-HIV-1 activities of extracts from the medicinal plant Rhus chinensis., Wang, R.R., Gu, Q., Yang, L.M., Chen, J.J., Li, S.Y., Zheng, Y.T., Journal of ethnopharmacology, Vol.105(1), 2006, 269-273]
[A new benzofuranone and anti-HIV constituents from the stems of Rhus chinensis., Gu, Q., Wang, R.R., Zhang, X.M., Wang, Y.H., Zheng, Y.T., Zhou, J., Chen, J.J., Planta Medica-Natural Products and Medicinal Plant Research, Vol.73(3), 2007, 279-282]
[Anti-HIV-1 activities of compounds isolated from the medicinal plant Rhus chinensis., Wang, R.R., Gu, Q., Wang, Y.H., Zhang, X.M., Yang, L.M., Zhou, J., Zheng, Y.T., Journal of ethnopharmacology, vol.117(2), 2008, 249-256]

„The aphid Schlechtendalia chinensis (Bell) induces large single-chamber galls, called horned galls, on the leaf wings (an extending part of the rachis) of Rhus chinensis Miller. Horned galls are initiated when the fundatrix of S. chinensis feeds on the adaxial surface of the leaf wings… The galls have historically been used for medicinal and chemical purposes, as they are rich in tannins, accounting for 50-80% of total gall weight, and are most often used as a source of tannic, gallic, and pyrogallic acids (Namba 1993, Zhang et al. 1999). The best known gall maker used in this manner is Schlechtendalia chinensis (Bell), which induces sealed horned-shape galls on the leaf wings of Rhus chinensis Miller. This species accounts for 75% of Chinese gallnut production (Tang and Cai 1957, Zhang et al.1999).“
[The Effect of the Gall-Forming Aphid Schlechtendalia chinensis (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on Leaf Wing Ontogenesis in Rhus chinensis (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae)., Liu, P., Yang, Z.X., Chen, X.M., Foottit, R.G., Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Vol.107(1), 2014, 242-250]
http://www.canacoll.org/Hemip/Staff/Foottit/PDFs/Liu_et_al_2014_Schlechtendalia_gall.pdf

„Leaves, roots, stem, bark, fruit and particularly the galls on Rhus chinensis leaves, Galla chinensis, are recognized to have preventative and therapeutic effects on different ailments (such as diarrhea, dysentery, rectal and intestinal cancer, diabetes mellitus, sepsis, oral diseases and inflammation). However, it is critical to separate evidence from anecdote… the pharmaceutical potential of this plant deserves closer attention.“
[Rhus chinensis and Galla Chinensis–folklore to modern evidence: review., Djakpo, O., Yao, W., Phytotherapy Research, Vol.24(12), 2010, 1739-1747]

Degener, O., Flora Hawaiiensis, the new illustrated flora of the Hawaiian islands, (1932-1980)
http://www.plantillustrations.org/species.php?id_species=878560