Witnessed by: TCM · Western
Thunder god vine (Tripterygium wilfordii), of the Celastraceae family. Woody climbing vine with winged three-angled fruits; native range: hill scrub and forest margins of southern China, Taiwan and Myanmar. Globally recognized as lei gong teng (雷公藤) in Chinese, and thunder god vine · three-wing nut in English. The part used is root (inner xylem, the toxic bark carefully removed). Tough orange-brown root, acrid and searingly bitter, warning of its potency on the tongue.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
THUNDER GOD VINE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Thunder god vine
- Scientific name
- Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.f.
- Family
- Celastraceae
Form
- Part used
- root (inner xylem, the toxic bark carefully removed)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · pungent
- Western
- bitter · acrid
Temperature
TCM: cold
Western: cool
convergence: both {witness_count} witnesses read it cooling — a cold, toxin-clearing drug for hot, swollen joints
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Spleen
- Western
- joints · immune · skin
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- dispels wind-damp, unblocks the channels, disperses swelling, clears toxin and kills parasites
- Western
- immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative
Cautions
Contraindications: pregnancy and lactation, and men or women seeking fertility; severe cytopenias and organ failure
Toxicity: highly toxic — overdose brings vomiting, diarrhoea, cardiac and renal damage and death; suppresses the marrow and gonads
Interactions
- Western
- immunosuppressants: additive immune suppression and infection risk · hepatotoxic drugs: additive liver injury · chemotherapy agents: additive bone-marrow suppression
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