Thunder God Vine - Cancer Cure?

[Xemnas]

I thought this community would find this pretty interesting:

Thunder god vine compound annihilates cancer in 40 days, researchers discover - NaturalNews.com

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110303153118.htm

Chinese Plant Compound Wipes out Cancer in 40 Days, Says New Research

Supposedly, in as little as 40 days, Chinese Thunder God Vine, or more specifically the chemical "Triptolide", can halt and even rid the body of cancer.

What are your thoughts on this?

Where can obtain either triptolide, the vine itself, or an extract of the vine?

What's the catch?

 

[The Traveler]

It's an interesting research, though please: In the future link directly to the research paper instead of bogus sites like natural news.

We want to discuss the content of the scientific paper instead of the biased propaganda that sites like natural news present.


PAPERS

Triptolide inhibits ovarian cancer cell invasion by repression of matrix metalloproteinase 7 and 19 and upregulation of E-cadherin - PubMed

Triptolide, a compound extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine preparation of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F., has been reported to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. However, its effect on ovarian cancer invasion is unknown. We observed that MMP7 and MMP19 expression...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Triptolide inhibits colon-rectal cancer cells proliferation by induction of G1 phase arrest through upregulation of p21 - PubMed

Triptolide, a diterpene triepoxide compound extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F., is a potential cancer chemotherapeutic for tumors. However, the mechanism of anti-proliferative mechanism of triptolide in colon cancer cells is not entirely clear...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Kind regards,

The Traveler

 

[moniker]

Sounds like a promising plant medicine although I would advise caution to any one who is planning on ingesting it as a supplement because according to the National center for complimentary and alternative medicine there are some potential side effects:

Thunder god vine can cause severe side effects and can be poisonous if it is not carefully extracted from the skinned root. Other parts of the plant—including the leaves, flowers, and skin of the root—are highly poisonous and can cause death.
A number of participants in the NIAMS study experienced gastrointestinal adverse effects such as diarrhea, indigestion, and nausea, as well as upper respiratory tract infections. (The rate of adverse effects was similar in the thunder god vine and sulfasalazine groups.)
Thunder god vine can also cause hair loss, headache, menstrual changes, and skin rash.
There are no consistent, high-quality thunder god vine products being manufactured in the United States. Preparations of thunder god vine made outside the United States (for example, in China) can sometimes be obtained, but it is not possible to verify whether they are safe and effective.
Thunder god vine has been found to decrease bone mineral density in women who take the herb for 5 years or longer. This side effect may be of particular concern to women who have osteoporosis or are at risk for the condition.
Thunder god vine contains chemicals that might decrease male fertility by changing sperm.

from wikipedia:

the plant contains many active compounds, at least six of which have male anti-fertility effect (triptolide, tripdiolide, triptolidenol, tripchlorolide, 16-hydroxytriplide and a compound known as T7/19, whose structure is unpublished). The mechanism by which they affect fertility is not yet understood. What is known is that daily doses of these compounds reduce sperm counts and also severely affect the formation and maturation of sperm, causing them to be immotile