TGFB1 and renal fibrosis: Since fibrosis is involved in the pathogenesis of kidney diseases [1, 2], since Cili possesses antifibrosis properties [16, 19, 20], and since our preliminary data showed that freeze-dried Cili powder improved renal fibrosis and indexes of oxidative stress in 90 patients with stages 3-4 renal failure [24], we hypothesized that Cili could prevent the development of renal fibrosis in rat models of UUO through TGF-β/Smads signaling, which is known to be involved in renal fibrosis [4–6].