Veratridine (VTD), an alkaloid derived from the Liliaceae plant shows anti-tumor effects. Veratridine is also an agent that opens voltage dependent Na+ channels, blocks Na+ channel activation, and induces Ca2+ influx. The compound has been observed to be an alkaloid neurotoxin used to amplify sodium permeability. Studies report that Veratridine can trigger exocytosis and induce Ca2+ oscillations. Furthermore, Veratridine has been shown to effect the mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes, induce release of noradrenaline, and increase superoxide anion production. Veratridine competes with BTX binding in a mutually exclusive manner. However, the pharmacological effects of veratridine on Na+ channels are quite different from those of BTX. First, veratridine reduces the single Na+ channel conductance drastically whereas BTX does not. Veratridine therefore is regarded as a partial agonist and BTX as a full agonist of Na+ channels. Second, under voltage clamp conditions BTX binds practically irreversibly to Na+ channels whereas veratridine readily dissociates from its binding site. Both of these drugs, however, bind preferentially to the open state of Na+ channels. The BTX resistant Na+ channels in Phyllobates frogs remain sensitive to veratridine. The ceveratrum alkaloids, including Veratridine, have a characteristic hypotensive effect not directly involving the CNS. They slow the heart and lower arterial blood pressure by reflexly stimulating medullary vasomotor centers without decreasing cardiac output (Bezold–Jarisch effect). These agents were introduced in the 1950s as antihypertensive agents; however, they were found to have a narrow therapeutic index and their use was discontinued.

8-oxyberberine (8-Oxoberberine, JKL1073A), an oxoderivative of berberine, is an alkaloid isolated from Argemone mexicana. 8-oxyberberine has been initially reported to exert anti-proliferative effects against a series of cancers. 8-oxyberberine inhibited the cell proliferation in human colon cancer cells. 8-Oxoberberine, a derivative of berberine, has been reported to exert antiarrhythmic activity, much like a class III antiarrhythmic agent. 8-Oxoberberine, like berberine, exerted positive inotropic and negative chronotropic actions. In rat left atria 8-oxoberberine, 10 to 100 uM, increased atrial contractility. In spontaneously beating right atria, 8-oxoberberine increased atrial contractility but slightly decreased the rate of contractions. 8-Oxoberberine inhibited the integral of the transient outward current (Ito) with a KD value of approximately 4 uM in either human or rat atrial myocytes. 8-Oxoberberine inhibited Ito by binding to open-state channels or by shifting the steady state inactivation curve of Ito.

Coptisine (COP), a protoberberine alkaloid, is widely found in Chinese medicinal plants (family Berberidaceae, Ranunculaceae and Papaveraceae). It is reported that COP has a wide range of pharmacological and biological activities, including antibacterial, hypoglycemic, anti-tumorigenic, and gastric-mucous membrane protection. Considerable attention has been focused on its activity against central nervous system disorders, such as improving the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and even preventing its onset, by exerting antidepressant effects as a potent type A monoamine oxidase inhibitor. Coptisine was found to be an efficient uncompetitive Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase inhibitor. Coptisine is a potent inhibitor of human organic cation transporters.

4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) is a chemical compound that is not directly added to food; rather it is formed as a byproduct in some foods and beverages during the normal cooking process. For example, 4-MEI may form when coffee beans are roasted and when meats are roasted or grilled. 4-MEI also forms as a trace impurity during the manufacturing of certain types of caramel coloring (known as Class III and Class IV caramel coloring) that are used to color cola-type beverages and other foods. In recent years, evidence for the carcinogenicity of 4-MEI has raised concerns about uses of caramel color type III and IV that may expose consumers to 4-MEI and increase cancer risk.

N,N,N',N'-TETRAKIS(2-PYRIDYLMETHYL)ETHYLENEDIAMINE (TPEN) is a heavy metal chelator with strong affinities for Zn2+, Fe2+, and Mn2+. TPEN inhibits lamin assembly, destabilizes nuclear architecture and may independently protect nuclei from apoptosis in vitro. TPEN prevents HIF-1alpha from interacting with CBP, so reducing expression of HIF-1alpha target genes. TPEN was able to pass through the blood-brain barrier and the neuronal membrane, leading to successful intracellular zinc chelation - zinc chelation could be a potentially effective way for ischemic stroke treatment. TPEN exhibits robust anti-tumor activity in vivo in colon cancer mouse xenografts. In vivo experiments show that TPEN-loaded, aptamer-targeted liposomes reduce tumor growth in a human prostate cancer xenograft model.

Demissidine was isolated from several potato species including Solanum demissum, Solanum acaule and Solanum tuberosum. Demissidine was synthesized from the related steroidal alkaloid dihydrotomatidine. Demissidine is an alkaloid that inhibits the growth of human colon and liver cancer cells in culture, though less actively than glycoalkaloid dehydrocommersonine. Demissidine is a growth inhibitor of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Digitonin is a steroidal saponin (saraponin) obtained from the foxglove plant Digitalis purpurea. As a non-ionic detergent Digitonin is commonly used to solubilize membrane-bound proteins. Digitonin forms a complex with its lipophilic terpenoid moiety with cholesterol in the biomembrane; additionally it binds to glycoproteins and glycolipids of the cell membrane with its sugar side chain. This leads to a severe tension of the biomembrane and influences membrane permeability. Digitonin, in combination with secondary metabolites, leads to a stronger inhibition of ABC transporters as when applied alone. Digitonin is used as a clinical reagent for the cholesterol determination. Digitonin mixed in the diet was well tolerated by rats and cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis), and prevented the expected rise in plasma cholesterol in monkeys fed a diet containing butter and cholesterol.

CALCIUM PHYTATE is a calcium salt of phytic acid (also known as myo-inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6), inositol polyphosphate), which is a strong chelator (complexing agent) of important minerals such as calcium, iron. In nature, it functions as storage for phosphorus in plants, especially in the hulls of nuts and seeds. Phytic acid (IP6) for a long period was considered an antinutritional factor. However, in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated its beneficial effects in the prevention and treatment of several pathological conditions and cancer. It also exhibits protective action in Parkinson's disease and this is correlated with its anti-inflammatory effect, which may be associated with suppression of pathways that involved in NF-κB and p-ERK. In addition was discovered, that phytic acid might provide a viable treatment option for Alzheimer's disease.

3, 4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) is a neuronal metabolite of dopamine (DA). DA undergoes monoamine oxidase-catalyzed oxidative deamination to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (DOPAL), which is metabolized primarily to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) via aldehyde dehydrogenase, ALDH2. DOPAC exhibits the antiproliferative effect in colon cancer cells. In addition, DOPAC enhances not only the total ALDH activity but also the gene expression of ALDH1A1, ALDH2, and ALDH3A1 in a concentration-dependent manner. The pretreatment of DOPAC completely protects the cells from the acetaldehyde-induced cytotoxicity, thus DOPAC acts as a potential ALDH inducer to prevent the alcohol-induced abnormal reaction.

Myristicin, a natural product found in nutmeg oil and nutmeg extract, contains the carbon skeleton for a series of drugs of abuse related to the 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamines (MDAs). Myristicin, 1-(3-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-propene, was identified as the major component of commercially available nutmeg oil and in the organic extract of nutmeg powder. Myristicin, or methoxysafrole, is a benzodioxole with slight MAO-inhibiting properties. Myristicin is active at the 5-HT receptors in the brain, and has been shown to have hypotensive, sedative, anti-depressant, anesthetic, hallucinogenic, and serotonergic properties. Large doses generally cause hyper-excitability, followed by CNS depression. Myristicin has been shown to have potent anti-cancer properties. A 65% inhibition of the tumor multiplicity in the lung of rats was observed as the result of treatment of myristicin in rats. Myristicin showed a 31% inhibition of tumor formation in the forestomach of rats. Mice given 5 to 50 mg doses of myristicin, showed 4- to 14-fold increase in liver glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity.