Researchers say thunder god vine has been used in China for centuries to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases, and some small clinical trials have suggested that the Chinese herbal remedy may benefit people with rheumatoid arthritis.

This study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, compared the benefits and side effects of treatment with thunder god vine and a conventional anti-inflammatory drug used in rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers randomly assigned 121 people with rheumatoid arthritis to take the 60 milligrams of the Chinese herbal extract three times a day or 1 gram of the anti-inflammatory drug sulfasalazine twice a day for 24 weeks