Development of a botanical anxiolytic for the animal health market

拟议的研究将导致一种新的商业天然保健产品（NHP），用于治疗动物的焦虑，并最终进入人类健康市场。抗焦虑产品是一种热带藤蔓植物，是我们与哥斯达黎加植物学家合作的发现研究项目中发现的。在大鼠、小鼠和仔猪的焦虑动物模型中，它已被证明是安全有效的，该技术现已获得加拿大一家公司的开发许可。将这一基础研究转化为生产一种面向动物保健市场的天然保健品，需要仔细选择种质、鉴别和质量保证、配方、可持续的方法，从野生收获过渡到种植。这些问题将在我们的工作中得到解决，并将产生一种统一的、可重复的产品，与我们团队在圭尔夫大学对狗进行临床试验时提供的产品相当。鉴于最近兽医和动物主人对狗和马的NHP治疗感兴趣，该产品将及时进入大型动物保健市场。该项目将通过在国际市场上销售一种创新的新产品、雇用熟练劳动力和农村劳动力，为加拿大和哥斯达黎加带来社会经济利益。该项目突出了正在消失的热带植物物种的价值，并满足了动物健康方面尚未得到满足的需求。

The proposed research will lead to a new commercial natural health product (NHP)derived to treat anxiety in animals and eventually the human health market. The antianxiety product is a tropical vine which was previously identified in our discovery research program in collaboration with Costa Rican botanists. It has been shown to be safe and highly effective in animal models of anxiety using rats, mice and piglets and the technology has now been licenced to a Canadain company for development. Translation of this fundamental research to produce a natural health product for the animal health market market requires careful choice of germ plasm, identity and quality assurance, formualtion, sustainable methods for wild harvest with a transition to cultivation. These issues are addressed in the proposed work and will lead to a uniform, reproducible product that will be comparable to that provided by our team for clincial trials with dogs at University of Guelph. Given the recent interest by veterinarians and animal owners in NHP treatments for dogs and horses, the product will make a timely effort into the large animal health care market. The project will provide socio-economic benefits to Canada and Costa Rica through sales of an innovative new product on the international market, employment of both a skilled and a rural workforce. The project highlights the value of disappearing tropical plant species and meets an unmet need in animal health.