[Traditional immunosuppression--Lei Gong Teng in modern medicine]

Although the origin of many common modern medicines that are routinely being used nowadays in healthcare is in medicinal plants and fungi, herbal medicine as a standalone profession is no longer included in the curricula of most Western medical schools. The medicinal plant Lei Gong Teng [also known as Thunder God Vine, Tripterygium Wilfordii Hook f., that is core to traditional Chinese herbal medicine, was praised for its possible anti-inflammatory properties in ancient traditional scripts that date back thousands of years. Yet, modern interest in its proven immune-modulatory properties serves as a vivid example to the bridge that is being built, gradually but constantly, between the tradition of healing arts and the world of modern therapeutics. In this review we summarize the main findings from an increasing number of clinical and laboratory studies published in top peer-reviewed medical journals that verify the traditional indications for which Lei Gong Teng was used medicinally. Based on these findings, and the risk-benefit profile of the plant's debarked root, we conclude that Lei Gong Teng and its active metabolites should be included in the Israeli herbal pharmacopeia.