Preprint / Version 1

Herbal drug discovery for the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Authors

  • Tingting Yan aLaboratory of Metabolism, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
  • Nana Yan bState Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
  • Ping Wang aLaboratory of Metabolism, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
  • Yangliu Xia aLaboratory of Metabolism, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
  • Haiping Hao bState Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
  • Guangji Wang bState Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
  • Frank Gonzalez aLaboratory of Metabolism, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA

Keywords:

Key words: Natural products, Fatty liver, Metabolic syndrome, TCM, NAFLD

Abstract

Few medications are available for meeting the increasing disease burden of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its progressive stage, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Traditional herbal medicines (THM) have been used for centuries to treat indigenous people with various symptoms but without clarified modern-defined disease types and mechanisms. In modern times, NAFLD was defined as a common chronic disease leading to more studies to understand NAFLD/NASH pathology and progression. THM have garnered increased attention for providing therapeutic candidates for treating NAFLD. In this review, a new model called “multiple organs-multiple hits” is proposed to explain mechanisms of NASH progression. Against this proposed model, the effects and mechanisms of the frequently-studied THM-yielded single anti-NAFLD drug candidates and multiple herb medicines are reviewed, among which silymarin and berberine are already under U.S. FDA-sanctioned phase 4 clinical studies. Furthermore, experimental designs for anti-NAFLD drug discovery from THM in treating NAFLD are discussed. The opportunities and challenges of reverse pharmacology and reverse pharmacokinetic concepts-guided strategies for THM modernization and its global recognition to treat NAFLD are highlighted. Increasing mechanistic evidence is being generated to support the beneficial role of THM in treating NAFLD and anti-NAFLD drug discovery. Key words: Natural products, Fatty liver, Metabolic syndrome, TCM, NAFLD

Author Biographies

Ping Wang, aLaboratory of Metabolism, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA

cInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China

Yangliu Xia, aLaboratory of Metabolism, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA

dSchool of Life Science and Medicine, Dalian University of Technology, Panjin 124221, China

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