(Z)-β-Santalol is a key component of sandalwood oil, which when purified, can be used to treat the common cold, bronchitis, fever, and urinary tract infections, and it has also been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties and cause autophagy in proliferating keratinocytes. β-Santalol has antiviral and anticancer activities. As of 2002, about 60 tons of sandalwood oil are produced annually by steam distillation of the heartwood of Santalum album.

Juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthalenedione, C.I. Natural Brown 7, C.I. 75500) is an isomer of lawsone occurs naturally in the leaves, roots, husks, fruit (the epicarp), and bark of plants in the Juglandaceae family, particularly the black walnut (Juglans nigra). Juglone is an allelopathic compound, a substance that is produced by a plant to stunt the growth of another. Juglone is occasionally used as a herbicide. Traditionally, juglone has been used as a natural dye for clothing and fabrics, particularly wool, and as ink. Because of its tendency to create dark orange-brown stains, juglone has also found use as a coloring agent for foods and cosmetics, such as hair dyes. Juglone is currently being studied for its anticancer properties and It has been shown to decrease the probability of intestinal tumors in rats that have been exposed to carcinogens. One of the potential pathways through which juglone achieves its anticancer properties is through the formation of the semiquinone radical; the semiquinone radical causes superoxide anion radicals to form which can lead to apoptosis when present in large concentrations. This conversion from juglone to semiquinone radical that causes the superoxide anion radical to form takes place in the mitochondria as well as the cytosol.

1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-Phosphoethanolamine is the phospholipid, containing the saturated long-chain stearic acid inserted at the sn-1 and sn-2 positions, that used for the generation of micelles and liposomes. Polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified 1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-Phosphoethanolamine (DSPE–PEG), which forms sterically stabilized micelles, is widely used as a lipid-based nanocarrier for drug delivery PEG-DSPE block copolymers are biocompatible and amphiphilic polymers that can be utilized in the preparation of liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, polymer hybrid nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles, and microemulsions. Particularly, the terminal groups of PEG can be activated and linked to various targeting ligands, which can prolong the circulation time, improve the drug bioavailability, reduce undesirable side effects, and especially target specific cells, tissues, and even the intracellular localization in organelles.

6-Thioguanosine (or thioguanosine) is a metabolite of 6-thioguanine, an immunosuppressant and anticancer prodrug, and plays a major role in the prodrug's overall photoreactivity. 6-Thioguanosine has been shown to induce DNA damage and cell death upon exposure to UVA radiation, which is correlated to the significant increase in skin cancers following prolonged treatment with thiopurine prodrug. Also existed experiments where 6-thioguanosine was used to treat idiopathic myocardial hypertrophy and where it showed clinical value in cancer chemotherapy.

Tubercidin, an adenosine analogue, is a nucleoside antibiotic. It is incorporated into DNA and inhibits polymerases, thereby inhibiting DNA replication and RNA and protein synthesis. This agent also exhibits antifungal and antiviral activities.

Oxophenylarsine (Phenylarsine oxide, PAO, PhAsO) is an organometallic compound with the phenyl group and an oxygen atom bonded to an arsenic atom. The arsenic atom in PAO has a high affinity for the sulfur atom of thiols inorganic compounds, in particular, forming stable complexes with vicinal cysteine residues in protein structures. This effect makes it the useful tool to investigate the interaction of peptides such as insulin with their receptors and the signal transduction from the receptor to the cell interior. Oxophenylarsine is commonly used in cell biological research as an inhibitor of phosphotyrosine phosphatases (PTPases); in particular, PTPases HA1, HA2, and SH-PTP2 have been identified as substrates for Oxophenylarsine. Covalent binding of Oxophenylarsine to cysteinyl residues residing in the catalytic sites causes inactivation of PTPases. Oxophenylarsine also acts on other phosphatases that harbor vicinal thiol groups [i.e., inositol 1,2,3,5,6-pentakisphosphate 5-phosphatase or calcineurin, a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent serine/threonine phosphatase. Also, NADPH oxidase and mitochondrial adenine nucleotide transporter were reported to be inhibited by Oxophenylarsine. Furthermore, steric inhibition of Oxophenylarsine-linked NFκB was suggested to be responsible for its decreased binding to DNA.

Chelidonine is the major alkaloid component of Chelidonium majus. Chelidonine is an isolate of Papaveraceae with acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase (a nonspecific cholinesterase) inhibitory activity. It showed strong cytotoxicity in cancer cells. While several modes of death have been identified, most of anti-cancer attempts have focused on stimulation of cells to undergo apoptosis. Chelidonine seems to trigger multiple mechanisms in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. It induces both apoptosis and autophagy modes of cell death in a dose dependent manner. Alteration of expression levels of bax/bcl2, and dapk1a by increasing concentration of chelidonine approves switching the death mode from apoptosis induced by very low to autophagy by high concentrations of this compound. On the other hand, submicromolar concentrations of chelidonine strongly suppressed telomerase at both enzyme activity and hTERT transcriptional level. Long exposure of the cells to 50 nanomolar concentration of chelidonine considerably accelerated senescence. Altogether, chelidonine may provide a promising chemistry from nature to treat cancer. Chelidonine exhibits a broad spectrum of pharmacological properties, such as anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities Its biological activities and clinical applications have been extensively investigated. Especially the usage of chelidonine as an anticancer drug is very important lately. It also has profound inhibitory effects on airway inflammation, which means chelidonine can improve allergic asthma in mice and may also work for human medicine.

Anisomycin (2-p-methoxyphenylmethyl-3-acetoxy-4-hydroxypyrrolidine) is an antibiotic isolated from cultures of various Streptomyces. Anisomycin is a potent, structurally specific, and reversible inhibitor of protein biosynthesis in certain yeast and mammalian cells. The inhibition occurs subsequent to the formation of aminoacyl transfer ribonucleic acid but prior to the release of polypeptides from the polyribosome. Anisomycin has unspecified effects that can produce temporary amnesia for a reactivated memory and they also could be responsible for any permanent effects that anisomycin produces. Anisomycin is known to cause apoptosis by activation of MAPK cascade.

Harmaline is a fluorescent psychoactive indole alkaloid from the group of harmala alkaloids and beta-carbolines. It is a partially hydrogenated form of harmine. Harmaline is produced by various plants including Peganum harmala aswell as Banisteriopsis caapi. Harmaline has been investigated as an anti-cancer agent and for the treatment of dementia in rats. However, Harmaline is known to induce tremors in rats.

Geraniol is a dietary monoterpene alcohol that is found in the essential oils of aromatic plants. To date, experimental evidence supports the therapeutic or preventive effects of geraniol on different types of cancer, such as breast, lung, colon, prostate, pancreatic, and hepatic cancer, and has revealed the mechanistic basis for its pharmacological actions. In addition, geraniol sensitizes tumor cells to commonly used chemotherapy agents. Geraniol controls a variety of signaling molecules and pathways that represent tumor hallmarks; these actions of geraniol constrain the ability of tumor cells to acquire adaptive resistance against anticancer drugs. It has been shown that geraniol inhibits HMG-CoA reductase in most types of tumor cells, which raises the possibility that the reduced prenylation of small G-proteins, such as Ras or RhoA, accounts for the antitumor effects of geraniol. In addition to its use in various commercial products, including cosmetics and fine fragrances, geraniol exerts a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-ulcer and neuroprotective activities. Geraniol is classified into the generally recognized-as-safe (GRAS) category by the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States.