The hunt for antifibrotic and profibrotic botanicals

TY - JOUR

T1 - The hunt for antifibrotic and profibrotic botanicals

AU - Xu, Qihe

AU - Feng, Yibin

AU - Duez, Pierre

AU - Hendry, Bruce

AU - Hylands, Peter J.

PY - 2014/12/19

Y1 - 2014/12/19

N2 - Fibrosis is a leading cause of mortality. This pressing challenge must be addressed through robust strategies, by developing efficacious anti-fibrotics and by preventing exposure to fibrogenic stimuli. This perspective paper briefly reviews anti-fibrotic and pro-fibrotic botanicals, especially those with inflammation-independent activities, leading to our proposal that future research should focus on efficacy, safety, innovation and good practice. An efficacy-based strategy is put forward for discovering anti-fibrotics; innovative modeling is emphasized for studying both anti-fibrotic therapeutics and pro-fibrotic hazards. At present, with funding insufficient to establish and maintain good practice, botanical research is generally perceived a risky area, but considerable morbidity and mortality risks also exist if we disregard anti- and pro-fibrotic botanicals. Thus, we call for sustainable investment into this challenging but increasingly important research field to encourage innovation, to nurture good practice and bring about breakthroughs.

AB - Fibrosis is a leading cause of mortality. This pressing challenge must be addressed through robust strategies, by developing efficacious anti-fibrotics and by preventing exposure to fibrogenic stimuli. This perspective paper briefly reviews anti-fibrotic and pro-fibrotic botanicals, especially those with inflammation-independent activities, leading to our proposal that future research should focus on efficacy, safety, innovation and good practice. An efficacy-based strategy is put forward for discovering anti-fibrotics; innovative modeling is emphasized for studying both anti-fibrotic therapeutics and pro-fibrotic hazards. At present, with funding insufficient to establish and maintain good practice, botanical research is generally perceived a risky area, but considerable morbidity and mortality risks also exist if we disregard anti- and pro-fibrotic botanicals. Thus, we call for sustainable investment into this challenging but increasingly important research field to encourage innovation, to nurture good practice and bring about breakthroughs.

U2 - 10.1126/science.346.6216.1569-d

DO - 10.1126/science.346.6216.1569-d

M3 - Article

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 346

SP - S19-S20

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6216

ER -