Isolation of compounds of biomedical interest from euphorbium

The study of natural compounds has so far been the most successful strategy for discovering new drugs both numerically and commercially. Around 50% of all drugs are in fact natural compounds derived from natural compounds or synthetic compounds inspired by natural compounds and their annual sales were estimated in 1999 at around $16 billion. Over the last decade some 500 new chemical entities have been approved half of which can be traced in one way or another to compounds of natural origin.