Posted by Susan Arnold on June 07, 1999 at 15:25:50:
This was in my local newspaper today - I don't think my paper is cutting edge but I haven't seen this anywhere else.
AN HERB'S NEW PATH
A Chinese herb used for centuries to relieve symptoms of rheumatiod arthrites may find a career in a variety of other applications, researchers at Stanford University have found.
The herb comes from Tripterygium wilfordii hook, a vine that grows in Southern China. Two Stanford scientists Drs. Peter Kao and Glann Rosen, published studies in the Journal of Biological Chemistry explaining the workings of triptolide, the active compound in the plant.
Triptolide can block actions of a protein that triggers the boody's immune system, making it a candidate for an immunnosuppressent that might be used to treat people with immune dissorders or patients who RECEIVE TRANSPLANTED ORGANS.
From: News Service Reports.