Thunder God Vine Possibly Effective in Treating Herpes Virus?
If you have been following thunder god vine at all in the news, you are well aware of its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, but did you know that it is also an anti-viral agent as well?
Honestly, I didn’t know this! I just read an article saying that Thunder god vine extract has been proven effective against large-enveloped viruses, including herpes simplex 1, human cytomegalovirus, measles virus, influenza A, and HIV (Hayashi).
So of course, I had to dig in with some research. First of all, viruses come in two different classes – enveloped and non-enveloped. An “enveloped” virus is a virus that comes with cellular wrapping paper around it – it will be encased in a thin membrane made of lipids or proteins, usually. Viruses that are not enveloped tend to be more drastic, they cause a more violent reaction in the host.
Thundergod vine seems to have a virucidal effect on enveloped viruses, and compound determined to have this killer effect on viruses is sesquiterpene triptofordin C2. It was found in the study to be effective against Herpes Simplex 1 (HSV-1) and the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV).
Much like the effect that Triptolide has on replication, Triptofordin C2 also interferes with an early step in the virus’s ability to replicate, damaging its proteins somewhere during the beginning of the replication process (Hyashi). It also seems to work well in tandem with acyclovir, which is a fairly common anti-viral drug that is given to suppress or prevent herpes outbreaks, including shingles.
Does that mean that taking a thunder god vine extract will cure you of herpes forever? After reading this study, I can’t say that it will. However, it looks like taking the extract either in tandem with your regular anti-viral, or in place of it if you prefer to make that decision for yourself may suppress herpes outbreaks and may even prevent them.
It looks like the effects of thunder god vine on herpes is going to be more pronounced over time, as well. In other words, the longer you take thunder god vine, the better it will be at suppressing painful outbreaks. At this point, there is still no known cure for herpes, but this may help.
I have also considered making a thunder god vine topical cream, which would be for arthritis mainly, but I wonder if it would have an effect on an actual herpes outbreak? I don’t have any data on this, so if you or anyone you know has an answer to this question, I would love to hear it!
References:
Hayashi K, Hayashi T, Ujita K, Takaishi Y. (1996) Characterization of antiviral activity of a sesquiterpene, triptofordin C-2. J Antimicrob Chemother 37(4):759-768
