Fenipentol is a choleretic agent indicated for the treatment of chronic liver disease and bile duct disease. The drug is sold without prescription.

Rebamipide, an amino acid derivative of 2-(1H)-quinolinone, is used for mucosal protection, healing of gastroduodenal ulcers, and treatment of gastritis. It works by enhancing mucosal defense, scavenging free radicals, and temporarily activating genes encoding cyclooxygenase-2. Rebamipide is used in a number of Asian countries including Japan (marketed as Mucosta), South Korea, China, and India (where it is marketed under the trade name Rebagen). It is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States. Studies have shown that rebamipide can fight the damaging effects of NSAIDs on the GIT mucosa.

Potassium magnesium citrate has being proven to be an effective prophylaxis against recurrent calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis. Liquid potassium magnesium citrate has being studied in clinical trial for controlling Hypertension. Provision of alkali as potassium-magnesium citrate is an effective countermeasure for the increased risk of renal stone disease associated with immobilization. Despite an increase in urine calcium concentration, the relative saturation of calcium oxalate decreased due to citrate chelation of calcium and the concentration of undissociated uric acid decreased due to the significant increase in urine pH. Potassium magnesium citrate is a nutritional supplement that fights kidney stones in three different ways. The potassium provided by the supplement raises the pH of the urine, making it more alkaline, thus reducing the amount of calcium that the urine can dissolve. When there is less calcium in the urine, fewer calcium kidney stones can form. The magnesium in the supplement reduces the amount of calcium the kidneys pump out of the body and into the urine. And the citrate in the supplement keeps oxalates dissolved in the urine so they are flushed away before they can form kidney stones.

Bergapten, known as 5-methoxypsoralen, a cumarine-derivate compound, presents in many fruits and vegetables. It has shown antitumor effects in a variety of cell types. The key target of bergapten action in breast cancer cells was identified the oncosuppressor gene PTEN (phosphatase tensin homolog deleted from chromosome 10); bergapten by inducing PTEN expression, produces autophagy in breast cancer cells. Besides, bergapten is under investigation in clinical trial phase III for patients with severe generalized atopic dermatitis.

Acadesine, also known as 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-D-ribofuranoside, AICA-riboside, and AICAR, is an AMP-activated protein kinase activator which is used for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and may have applications in treating other disorders such as mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). The mechanism by which acadesine selectively kills B-cells is not yet fully elucidated. The action of acadesine does not require the tumour suppressor protein p53 like other treatments. This is important, as p53 is often missing or defective in cancerous B-cells. Studies have shown acadesine activates AMPK and induces apoptosis in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells but not in T lymphocytes. Antiapoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family regulate MCL cell sensitivity to acadesine and combination of this agent with Bcl-2 inhibitors might be an interesting therapeutic option to treat MCL patients. Acadesine has anti-ischemic properties that is currently being studied (Phase 3) for the prevention of adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Adenosine itself has many beneficial cardioprotective properties that may therefore be harnessed by this new class of drugs. Unlike adenosine, acadesine acts specifically at sites of ischemia and is therefore void of the systemic hemodynamic effects that may complicate adenosine therapy. Animal and in vitro studies have established acadesine as a promising new agent for attenuating ischemic and reperfusion damage to the myocardium. Acadesine also possesses the theoretical (but unproven) benefit of attenuating reperfusion injury after acute myocardial infarction (MI). Further research is needed to define the full potential of this unique agent in various clinical situations involving myocardial ischemia.

Amygdalin is a naturally occurring cyanogenic glycoside derived from nuts, plants, and the pits of certain fruits, primarily apricots. Bitter almonds containing amygdalin are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to remove “blood stasis” and to treat abscesses. Amygdalin was first used as a cancer treatment in Russia in 1845, and in the United States in the 1920s. Laetrile is another name for the natural product amygdalin. Hydrogen cyanide is thought to be the main anticancer compound formed from laetrile (Amygdalin) via in situ release. Cyanide from the hydrolysis of amygdalin is believed to be cytotoxic with actions selective against cancerous cells, but results from animal studies were mostly negative. Other animal studies suggest it may help to relieve pain due to its anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. One study suggested amygdalin can inhibit tumor growth, but subsequent tests were unable to confirm this observation. Laetrile (Amygdalin) has shown little anticancer activity in animal studies and no anticancer activity in human clinical trials. In 1970, an IND application to study laetrile was filed by the McNaughton Foundation (San Ysidro, California). This request was initially approved but later rejected because preclinical evidence in animals showed that laetrile was not likely to be effective as an anticancer agent. The side effects associated with laetrile toxicity mirror the symptoms of cyanide poisoning, including liver damage, difficulty walking (caused by damaged nerves), fever, coma, and death. Laetrile (Amygdalin) is not approved for use in the United States.

Prenoxdiazine under the brand name Libexin is used as an antitussive agent. It was shown, that the use of this drug for pregnant women with an unproductive cough could be beneficial.

Ipriflavone (chemical structure: 7-isopropoxyisoflavone), derived from the soy isoflavone, daidzein, holds great promise for osteoporosis prevention and treatment. Ipriflavone (IP) was discovered in the 1930s but has only recently begun to be embraced by the medical community in this country. Over 150 studies on safety and effectiveness, both animal and human, have been conducted in Italy, Hungary, and Japan. As of 1997, 2,769 patients had been treated a total of 3,132 patient years. Preliminary studies have pointed to its effectiveness in the treatment of other conditions involving bone pathology, including Paget’s disease, hyperparathyroidism, renal osteodystrophy, and tinnitus due to otosclerosis. Ipriflavone appears to have several mechanisms of action, all of which enhance bone density, making them seemingly superior to many of the other treatments available for osteoporosis prevention and treatment. IP also inhibits osteoclastic activity (motility and resorptive activity) by modulating intracellular free calcium. IP’s bone-forming mechanisms include stimulation of cell proliferation and maturation of osteoblasts by inhibiting calcium influx into osteoblasts and phosphoinositide hydrolysis. Despite similarities to estrogen, IP possesses no intrinsic estrogenic activity, but does potentiate estrogen. Importantly, IP does not change bone mineral composition or crystalline structure. A clinical trial reported in 2001 that it was not effective in prevention or treatment of osteoporosis.

ISOPENTYL NITRITE (Amyl nitrite) is a chemical compound with an amyl group attached to the nitrite functional group. Amyl nitrite, in common with other alkyl nitrites, is a potent vasodilator; it expands blood vessels, resulting in lowering of the blood pressure. Alkyl nitrites are a source of nitric oxide, which signals for relaxation of the involuntary muscles. Physical effects include the decrease in blood pressure, headache, flushing of the face, increased heart rate, dizziness, and relaxation of involuntary muscles, especially the blood vessel walls and the internal and external anal sphincter. There are no withdrawal symptoms. Overdose symptoms include nausea, vomiting, hypotension, hypoventilation, shortness of breath, and fainting. The effects set in very quickly, typically within a few seconds and disappear within a few minutes. Amyl nitrite may also intensify the experience of synesthesia. Amyl nitrite is employed medically to treat heart diseases as well as angina. Amyl nitrite is sometimes used as an antidote for cyanide poisoning. It can act as an oxidant, to induce the formation of methemoglobin. Methemoglobin, in turn, can sequester cyanide as cyanomethemoglobin.

Soblidotin is a derivative of dolastatin 10, which was isolated from the Indian Ocean sea hare, Dolabella auricularia, in 1987. Soblidotin inhibits tubulin polymerization, resulting in cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis. It has a broad spectrum of antitumor activity against various murine tumors – P388 leukemia, Colon26 and LLC carcinomas, B16 melanoma and M5076 sarcoma – as well as human tumor xenografts, MX-1, LX-1 and SBC-3 carcinomas. Soblidotin is currently undergoing clinical evaluation and, in phase II clinical trials for solid tumours.