Lei Gong Teng

What is Lei Gong Teng?

Lei Gong Teng is one of the most poisonous herbs in Chinese medicine. It is a climbing vine, Tripterygium wilfordii, also called thunder god vine. Small amounts have killed people.

The plant slows the immune system, which is the body's defence against germs. Because of that, doctors have tested it for rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that swells and damages joints.

Some human trials do show less joint pain and swelling. But harm is common, and it can be severe.

It can shut down the bone marrow, where blood is made. It can also cause lasting infertility, which means you cannot have children. Deaths from overdose are on record.

This vine has a long record in China. Age of use is not proof that a herb works or is safe. This page gives no dose, no recipe and no place to buy it.

How does Lei Gong Teng work?

Lei Gong Teng damps down the immune system. That same action is what makes it so dangerous.

Its main compounds block the signals that drive swelling in the body. They also stop white blood cells from multiplying. White cells fight germs, so joints may calm down while germ defence drops.

The same compounds poison cells that divide fast. Bone marrow cells divide fast, so the marrow is hit hard.

When the marrow fails, white cells fall and infections take hold. Platelets fall and you bruise and bleed. Red cells fall and you feel weak and short of breath.

Sperm and egg cells also divide fast. This is why the herb can stop periods and leave men and women unable to have children.

The liver and kidneys clear the poison, and both can be damaged doing it. In heavy poisoning, the heart beats in an uneven way and blood pressure falls. That is how people die from it.

What forms does Lei Gong Teng come in?

You may meet Lei Gong Teng as dried root or root bark in Chinese herb shops.

In China, drug makers produce tablets of a purified extract. They are often labelled Tripterygium glycosides. There they are prescription hospital medicines, given with regular blood tests.

Online it is sold as capsules, powders or tinctures under the name thunder god vine. These goods are not checked in the same way. The strength varies, and the wrong plant part is sometimes used, which raises the risk of poisoning.

This page does not describe how any form is made ready for use.

Where it comes from:

Farmers in southern China knew this vine first as a pest killer. They used it on crops and on skin parasites.

Old Chinese texts listed it among the poison herbs. Healers mostly put it on the skin for sores, swelling and itching. It was not a daily tonic, and it was handled with care.

From the 1960s, Chinese hospitals began testing extracts of the root for joint disease, kidney inflammation and skin disease. That research is why the plant is known outside China today.

Its place in the tradition was always that of a strong poison used by trained hands, never a home remedy.

What does Lei Gong Teng help with?

• Rheumatoid arthritis (a disease that swells and damages joints): Old practice did not use this name. Healers used the vine for hot, swollen, painful joints. Modern trials in China tested a purified extract. Many people had less pain and swelling. Some trials found it worked about as well as a standard arthritis drug. But side effects were common, and some were grave. Every trial ran in a clinic, with blood tests and a doctor watching. None of this supports taking the herb on your own.
• Lupus and lupus kidney inflammation: Lupus is a disease where the immune system attacks the body's own tissue. It can damage the kidneys. Chinese hospitals have used the purified extract here, often alongside steroid drugs. Small studies report less protein in the urine. The studies are small and not well blinded. The risk of marrow failure and infertility stays the same. This is hospital work, not a home option.
• Skin disease such as psoriasis and eczema: Tradition used the vine on the skin for red, itchy, weeping patches. A few small trials of extracts report clearer skin. The trials are short and the numbers are low. Put on the skin, the plant can still burn and blister. It can also pass through the skin into the blood. Safer creams exist and a doctor can prescribe them.
• Skin sores, boils and itching: This was the herb's main old use. It was applied to the skin, not swallowed. That choice was about safety. Healers knew that taking it by mouth could kill. There is no good modern trial for sores and boils. Simple wound care and medicines from a doctor do this job with far less danger.
• Killing insects and skin parasites: Farmers used the crushed plant against crop pests and mites. This is a farm use, not a medicine. It tells you something useful: the plant is poison to living cells. That is true for your cells too.

What are the side effects of Lei Gong Teng?

• Nausea, vomiting, belly pain and watery diarrhoea
• Bone marrow failure, meaning the body stops making blood cells
• Low white cells, which leads to serious infections
• Low platelets, which leads to bruising and bleeding
• Anaemia (too few red blood cells), causing weakness and breathlessness
• Lasting infertility in men and women
• Periods that become light, irregular or stop
• Liver damage, with yellow skin and eyes
• Kidney damage and passing much less urine
• Uneven or fast heartbeat, and a fall in blood pressure
• Hair loss
• Rash, blisters and burns where it touches skin
• Harm to an unborn baby, and pregnancy loss
• Shock and death in overdose

Good to know:

Harm from this plant is common, not rare. In trials, many people had stomach upset, rashes or changes to their periods.

Poisoning can start within hours. It often begins with vomiting, belly pain and watery diarrhoea. Blood pressure then falls and the heartbeat turns uneven.

Death has followed within a day or two of a large amount.

Some harms do not go away. Infertility may be permanent. Low blood counts and organ damage can take months to mend, and may never fully mend.

Is Lei Gong Teng legal where you live?

In the United States, thunder god vine is sold as a dietary supplement and is not approved as a medicine; the FDA has warned that it has caused serious harm and death.

In China, purified Tripterygium glycoside tablets are prescription hospital medicines, given with monitoring.

In the United Kingdom and the European Union, no licensed medicine and no registered traditional herbal product contains this plant. In Australia, the medicines regulator does not allow it in low-risk listed products.

Options to discuss with a clinician

If you have painful, swollen joints, there are far safer paths. Talk each one over with your doctor or another qualified clinician.

Proven arthritis medicines, such as methotrexate or biologic drugs, are given with blood tests that catch harm early. They do much of what this herb was tested for, with a safety net around you.

Gentler add-ons your clinician may discuss include turmeric or curcumin, fish oil (omega-3 fats), and Boswellia. The evidence for these is modest, but the risk is far lower.

Regular movement, physiotherapy, weight care, heat and cold packs, and simple pain relief all help many people. A clinician can build these into your plan.

For skin sores and itching, ask about prescribed creams and proper wound care. Do not treat these at home with a poisonous plant.

Tell your clinician about every herb and supplement you already take. That way nothing clashes with your prescribed treatment.

Graded pages for the options named above:

• Boswellia — evidence grade A, traditional tier T3
• Curcumin — evidence grade A, traditional tier T0
• Fish oil — evidence grade A, traditional tier T0