Neoandrographolide, one of the principal diterpene lactones, isolated from a medicinal herb Andrographis paniculata Nees. Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Wall. ex Nees (Acanthaceae), also known as “kalmegh” in India, is a widely distributed plant in Asia. In many traditional formulations, the aerial parts have been used as anti-inflammatory and antipyretic drugs for the treatment of a variety of chronic and infectious diseases. Neoandrographolide possesses significant anti-inflammatory effects, which implies that it would be one of the major contributing components to participate in the anti-inflammatory effect of A. paniculata. and a potential candidate for further clinical trial.

20-Hydroxyecdysone is a naturally occurring ecdysteroid hormone, which is marketed as dietary supplements that can increase strength and muscle mass during resistance training, particularly bodybuilding. It was found, that 20-hydroxyecdysone did not affect body composition or training adaptations nor did they influence the anabolic/catabolic hormone status or general markers of catabolism in resistance-trained males. Because is known, that ecdysteroids have been shown to prevent various changes in mammalian tissues after female sex hormone deprivation. 20-Hydroxyecdysone also was investigated on these properties. It was found in rats, that 20-Hydroxyecdysone had a beneficial effect on reducing blood pressure and consequently preventing dilated cardiac hypertrophy. Some in vitro experiments showed, that 20-hydroxyecdysone had effects on lymphocytes and neutrophils, and may act as an immunomodulator.

Carnosol is an ortho-diphenolic diterpene with an abietane carbon skeleton with hydroxyl groups at positions C-11 and C-12 and a lactone moiety across the B ring. Carnosol is the product of oxidative degradation of carnosic acid. Carnosol is a naturally occurring phytopolyphenol found in rosemary that functions as an antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticarcinogen. Carnosol has been shown to inhibit inductions of COX-2 by blocking PKC signaling. Carnosol is an inhibitor of AR and ER α. Several pre-clinical studies have suggested that carnosol selectively targets tumorigenic cell as opposed to non-tumorigenic cells and is safe and tolerable in animals. Carnosol has been shown to elicit chemopreventive effects by (1) blocking the bioactivation of carcinogens, (2) enhancing antioxidant and/or detoxification enzyme activities, (3) suppressing tumor-promoting inflammation, (4) inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis selectively in cancer cells, and (5) blocking tumor angiogenesis and invasion.

Alpha methyltryptamine (AMT) is a tryptamine (indole ethylamine) derivative, which was developed in the 1960's by Upjohn with the intention for use as an antidepressant. It was used in Russia under the trade name Indopan for the treatment of Bipolar disorder and some form of depression, but currently not being produced because of serious side effects. In the 1990's, alpha-methyltryptamine became regulated as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States. Pharmacologically, AMT has high affinity for the serotonin (5-HT) transporter, a number of 5-HT receptors, and potently inhibits reuptake of monoamines dopamine, 5-HT, and norepinephrine reuptake. AMT is also a monoamine oxidase A inhibitor that conceivably could contribute to its pharmacological effect and this drug also the most potent inhibitor of semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO).

Sodium taurodeoxycholate is a bile salt-related, anionic detergent used for isolation of membrane proteins including inner mitochondrial membrane proteins. It is formed by the conjugation of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) with taurine. Sodium taurodeoxycholate and ursodeoxycholic acid are major constituents of black bear bile, which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Bear bile was historically employed to treat a number of diseases including jaundice, summer diarrhea, abdominal pain due to hepatobiliary diseases and gastric malfunction, biliary ascariasis, infectious skin diseases, the common cold, intestinal worms, and inflammation of the throat. Sodium taurodeoxycholate has been shown to inhibit apoptosis by modulating mitochondrial membrane perturbation and pore formation, B cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2)-associated protein X (BAX) translocation, cytochrome c release, and caspase activation. Sodium taurodeoxycholate inhibits amyloid beta (Ab)-induced apoptosis and attenuates the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which are thought to be key components of the pathological process in certain diseases. In clinical studies, Sodium taurodeoxycholate is shown to be very safe with oral administration of 1500 mg/day for up to 6 months. In a more recent clinical study, a dose of 1750 mg/day for up to 4 weeks was well tolerated in healthy obese persons. One of the major adverse effects of Sodium taurodeoxycholate is diarrhea. Based on the related information from ursodeoxycholic acid, other gastrointestinal side effects are possible including abdominal pain, flatulence, nausea, dyspepsia, and anorexia.

Truxicurium is a neuromuscular blocking agent.

TD139 is a highly potent, specific inhibitor of the galactoside binding pocket of galectin-3. TD139 is formulated for inhalation, which enables direct targeting the fibrotic tissue in the lungs, while minimizing systemic exposure. TD139 was initially developed by a team of scientists from Lund University, Sweden, and Edinburgh University, the UK. TD-139 is in phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

GW-870086 (now known as GSK 870086) was developed by GlaxoSmithKline as a glucocorticoid receptor agonist. Repeat inhaled doses of GW-870086 was studied in phase II clinical trial in patients with asthma. In addition, phase II clinical trial was investigated to determine the efficacy of GW-870086 ream formulation in subjects with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. However, the development of this drug appears to have been discontinued.

Withaferin A is one of the most bioactive phytoconstituents of Withania somnifera, a well-known herb in Ayurvedic medical tradition of India. Due to the lactonal steroid's potential to modulate multiple oncogenic pathways, Withaferin A has gained much attention as a possible anti-neoplastic agent. Systematic research on the evaluation of anticancer activities of withaferin A was started around the 1970s. Since then, a large number of studies have demonstrated the ability of withaferin A to suppress the in vivo growth of various human cancer cells’ xenograft tumors as well as experimentally induced carcinogenesis in different rodent models. It has being reported that withaferin-A reduced the growth of human prostate cancer (PC3) cells tumor xenograft in nude mice by blocking the tumor angiogenesis and inducing intratumoral apoptosis. According to this study, i.p. administration of withaferin-A caused regression of implanted tumor cells by decreasing the expression of angiogenesis marker CD31, inducing the expression of proapoptotic protein Bax, and activating caspase-3 via inhibition of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway. In a separate study, intratumoral administration of withaferin-A arrested PC3 cells’ xenograft tumor growth in mice by inducing tumor cell death via upregulation of prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4). Anticancer activity of withaferin-A has also being demonstrated for gynecological cancer, melanoma, thyroid, gastrointestinal and other types of cancer. Mechanistic basis of the anticancer effects of withaferin-A includes: (1) reinforcement of cellular antioxidant and/or detoxification system; (2) suppression of inflammatory pathways; (3) selective inhibition of tumor cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis; (4) suppression of tumor angiogenesis; (5) blockade of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), tumor invasion, and metastasis; (6) alteration of tumor cell metabolism; (7) immunomodulation; and (8) eradication of cancer stem cells.