Plants in the genus Tripterygium, such as Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f., have a long history
of use in traditional Chinese medicine. In recent years there has been considerable interest
in the use of Tripterygium extracts and of the main bioactive constituent, the diterpene
triepoxide triptolide (1), to treat a variety of autoimmune and inflammation-related conditions.
The main mode of action of the Tripterygium extracts and triptolide (1) is the inhibition of
expression of proinflammatory genes such as those for interleukin-2 (IL-2), inducible nitric …