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Tripterygium wilfordii

Tripterygium wilfordii (Thunder God Vine) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine that appears to be effective for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, but has toxicity associated per se and a low therapeutic threshold.

Our evidence-based analysis on tripterygium wilfordii features 40 unique references to scientific papers.

Kamal Patel
Research analysis led by and reviewed by the Examine team.
Last Updated:

How to Take

Recommended dosage, active amounts, other details

It should be noted that this plant has a very low therapeutic index (difference between the effective dose and the toxic dose) and that overdosing is both easy to do and critical; supplementation is usually avoided for this reason.

Things to Note

Primary Function:

Other Functions:

Also Known As

Thunder God Vine

Caution Notice

Known to interact with Drug Metabolizing Enzymes

High Toxicity

  • This plant appears to inhibit the CYP3A4 enzyme, which is known to metabolize a great deal of drugs

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This page is regularly updated, to include the most recently available clinical trial evidence.

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This page features 40 references. All factual claims are followed by specifically-applicable references. Click here to see the full set of research information and references for Tripterygium wilfordii.

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