S-Adenosylmethionine (often referred to as SAMe) is a methyl donor and a cofactor for enzyme-catalyzed methylations, including catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) and DNA methyltransferases (DNMT). Although present in all cells, it is concentrated in liver where 85% of all methylation reactions occur. SAM is anti-apoptotic in normal hepatocytes and normal colon epithelial cells but pro-apoptotic in liver human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), HepG2 cells and colon cancer cells. Because of structural instability, stable salt forms of SAM are required for its use as an oral drug. The commonly used salts: tosylate, butanedisulfonate, disulfate tosylate, disulfate ditosylate, and disulfate monotosylate. SAMe has been marketed in some European countries since the mid-1980s for the treatment of depression and for other medical conditions such as osteoarthritis (joint disease that causes joint pain and stiffness), fibromyalgia (widespread pain and stiffness). In addition, it is used to treat liver disease and migraine headaches. However, it is not formally approved in the UK for the treatment of depression, and in the USA, it is classified only as a dietary supplement. Some research suggests that it is more effective than placebo in treating mild-to-moderate depression and is just as effective as antidepressant medications without the side effects (headaches, sleeplessness, and sexual dysfunction). In addition, antidepressants tend to take 6 to 8 weeks to begin working, while It seems to begin more quickly. Researchers are not sure how SAMe works to relieve depression. But they speculate it might increase the amount of serotonin in the brain just as some antidepressants do. Many studies have examined injectable forms of SAMe, not oral supplements.

Hematoporphyrin (Photodyn), a porphyrin prepared from hemin, is used as a photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy. Photodynamic therapy is based on the use of light-sensitive photosensitizers. Photoactivation causes the formation of singlet oxygen, which produces peroxidative reactions that can cause cell damage and death. Hematoporphyrin was used as the therapeutic agent in patients with manic-depressive reactions and in patients with involutional melancholia. One of the last studies has shown, that Hematoporphyrin-Photodynamic therapy (PDT) combined with stent placement is an effective and safe treatment for extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHCC).

Ergosterol was discovered over 100 years ago in the plant pathogenic ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea. Ergosterol is the major fungal membrane sterol that regulates membrane fluidity, plasma membrane biogenesis and function. Antifungal drugs such as Amphotericin B exerts its action by simply binding ergosterol. Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is derived from ergosterol by UVB irradiation. Ergocalciferol is used for treating low parathyroid hormone levels, rickets (a vitamin D deficiency condition), and low phosphate levels in the body.

Choline alfoscerate (alpha-Glycerylphosphorylcholine or Alpha-GPC) is a nootropic choline-containing phospholipid. Choline alphoscerate increases the release of acetylcholine in rat hippocampus, facilitates learning and memory in experimental animals, improves brain transduction mechanisms and decreases age-dependent structural changes occurring in rat brain areas involved in learning and memory. The compound exerts neuroprotective effects in models of altered cholinergic neurotransmission and of brain vascular injury. In clinical studies choline alphoscerate improved memory and attention impairment, as well as affective and somatic symptoms in dementia disorders. In Europe alpha-GPC is a prescription medication for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. It is available in two forms; one is taken by mouth, and the other is given as a shot. In the United States alpha-GPC is only available as a dietary supplement, mostly in products promoted to improve memory. Other uses for alpha-GPC include treatment of various kinds of dementia, stroke, and "mini-stroke" (transient ischemic attack, TIA). Alpha-GPC is also used for improving memory, thinking skills, and learning.

Beryllium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Be and atomic number 4. A toxic bivalent element, beryllium is a steel grey, strong, light-weight yet brittle, alkaline earth metal. Beryllium is an ubiquitous element in the environment, and it has many commercial applications. Beryllium is used in alloys with copper or nickel to make gyroscopes, springs, electrical contacts, spot-welding electrodes and non-sparking tools. Mixing beryllium with these metals increases their electrical and thermal conductivity. Other beryllium alloys are used as structural materials for high-speed aircraft, missiles, spacecraft and communication satellites. Beryllium is relatively transparent to X-rays so ultra-thin beryllium foil is finding use in X-ray lithography. Beryllium is also used in nuclear reactors as a reflector or moderator of neutrons. Beryllium and its compounds are toxic and carcinogenic. If beryllium dust or fumes are inhaled, it can lead to an incurable inflammation of the lungs called berylliosis. Because it is strong, stable, can handle elevated levels of heat resistance and is highly transparent to x-rays, beryllium, in thin foil form, has long been critical to the operation of medical and scientific x-ray equipment. Beryllium foil provides the window through which tissue-penetrating x-rays are focused, while maintaining the vacuum inside the x-ray tube generator. Beryllium foil remains indispensible for high-resolution medical radiography, including CT scanning and mammography. Beryllium in newer generation mammography equipment enables a lower radiation dose scan with significantly finer tumor resolution, enabling breast cancer detection at its early, most treatable stages. Beryllium is also used in components of the analytical equipment used to analyze blood for HIV and other diseases, offering the precision and reliability that doctors and patients demand.

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.

Most of the kidney stones are composed of calcium phosphate and calcium oxalate, which enter into the body through diet. Both sources of oxalates become dangerous when normal flora of gastrointestinal tract is disturbed. Several genetic disorders inducing hypercalciuria and hyperoxaluria were found to be associated with the formation of calcium oxalate stones. Calcium oxalate stones are caused by too much oxalate in the urine. Oxalobacter and Lactobacillus species exist symbiotically in the human gut and prevent stone formation by altering some biochemical pathways through the production of specific enzymes that help in the degradation of oxalate salts. Unfortunately, modern medical practice influences on O. formigenes colonization and the amount of these bacterias progressively come down and as a result the rising incidence of kidney stones. Recent experiments have shown the efficacy of the two medicinal and aromatic plants: Ammi visnaga and Punica granatum against the crystallization of calcium oxalate. The prevention and treatment of urinary lithiasis by plants remains an alternative for medical methods.

Uracil is a common and naturally occurring pyrimidine derivative, one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of RNA In RNA, uracil binds to adenine via two hydrogen bonds. In DNA, the uracil nucleobase is replaced by it’s methylated form -- thymine. Originally discovered in 1900 by Alberto Ascoli, it was isolated by hydrolysis of yeast nuclein;[4] it was also found in bovine thymus and spleen, herring sperm, and wheat germ. It is a planar, unsaturated compound that has the ability to absorb light. Uracil readily undergoes regular reactions including oxidation, nitration, and alkylation. While in the presence of phenol (PhOH) and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), uracil can be visualized in ultraviolet light. Uracil also has the capability to react with elemental halogens because of the presence of more than one strongly electron donating group. Uracil readily undergoes addition to ribose sugars and phosphates to partake in synthesis and further reactions in the body. Uracil becomes uridine, uridine monophosphate (UMP), uridine diphosphate (UDP), uridine triphosphate (UTP), and uridine diphosphate glucose (UDP-glucose). Each one of these molecules is synthesized in the body and has specific functions. Uracil's use in the body is to help carry out the synthesis of many enzymes necessary for cell function through bonding with riboses and phosphates. Uracil serves as allosteric regulator and coenzyme for reactions in the human body and in plants. Uracil can be used for drug delivery and as a pharmaceutical. When elemental fluorine is reacted with uracil, 5-fluorouracil is produced. 5-Fluorouracil is an anticancer drug (antimetabolite) used to masquerade as uracil during the nucleic acid replication process. In combination with Tegafur, uracil used as a chemotherapy drug (called UFT or UFUR) used in the treatment of cancer, primarily bowel cancer. UFT is an anticancer medication composed of a fixed molar ratio (1:4) of tegafur and uracil to be administered with calcium folinate.

Androstenedione (Δ4-Androstenedione, 4-androstene-3,17-dione or 17-ketotestosterone) is an endogenous androgen steroid hormone and intermediate in the biosynthesis of testosterone from dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). In turn, Androstenedione is also a precursor of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), estrogens such as estradiol and estrone, and the neurosteroid 3α-androstanediol. Androstenedione is used to increase the production of the hormone testosterone to enhance athletic performance, increase energy, keep red blood cells healthy, enhance recovery and growth from exercise, and increase sexual desire and performance. Androstenedione has been shown to increase serum testosterone levels over an eight-hour period in men when taken as a single oral dose of 300 mg per day, but a dose of 100 mg had no significant effect on serum testosterone. However, serum levels of estradiol increased following both the 100 mg and 300 mg doses. The study also reported that the serum level of estrogens and testosterone produced varied widely among individuals. Androstenedione is currently used as a nutritional supplement to grow bigger muscles and stronger bones. This implies that androstenedione may have anabolic properties. Even though it has not been convincingly demonstrated yet that androstenedione is an anabolic steroid, its anabolic properties are likely based on its proven ability to increase testosterone levels. The role of testosterone in building stronger muscles and bones is widely accepted. Thus, high doses of testosterone-boosting drugs combined with strength training have been shown to increase muscle size and strength even in normal young men. This confirms what thousands of athletes who take anabolic steroids have known for decades. Yet androstenedione is different from testosterone-boosting drugs in a number of important aspects. To begin with, androstenedione is a naturally occurring substance that is produced by the body itself. In contrast to synthetic anabolic steroids, androstenedione is right at home in the human body, and perfectly complements the complex hormonal network in the body. Information about possible side effects and risks of androstenedione is very limited. Also, recent studies show that the drug's actions don't support manufacturer's claims. While a few individuals have shown increased levels of testosterone, most failed to achieve increases in blood testosterone levels. Initial medical research has raised concerns about this supplement's safety. Doctors worry that androstenedione may increase the risk of heart disease or liver cancer. In addition, research also associates androstenedione use with increases in estradiol, a female estrogen.