A novel anti-cancer compound from Eremurus plant

As regards the definition of natural products the term natural refers to something produced by nature and not artificial or man-made. The term natural products today is quite commonly understood to refer to herbs herbal concoctions dietary supplements traditional Chinese medicine or alternative medicine. Many drugs currently used in therapy took their origin from nature since most of them have been isolated or derived from natural sources. Natural products could be the starting point for 1) the discovery of new drug candidates as well as 2) for the development of dietary supplements or herbal remedies aimed to improve human health. It is clear that these two approaches typically present different challenges with different goals. Furthermore while the stories of herbs and herbal drugs are often novelized it must be recognized that the use of herbal remedies in folk medicine is different from the use of natural products as a starting point for the discovery of new biologically active molecules and the development of new drug candidates.