Emodin-8-O-beta-D-glucoside extracted from the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc, which is used to treat fractures, rheumatoid arthritis, muscle injury and pain possible by antioxidative mechanism. Emodin-8-O-beta-D-glucoside can be a promising antitumor agent for cancer treatment, because experiments with cervical cancer SKOV3 cells have shown, that it can inhibit the proliferation of cells and promote apoptosis by down regulation of Bcl-2 expression and up regulation of Bax expression, as well as the increase of relative activity of caspase 3 and caspase 9. In addition, emodin-8-O-beta-D-glucoside is able to provide neuroprotection against cerebral ischemia-reperfused injury and glutamate induced neuronal damage through exerting antioxidative effects and inhibiting glutamate neurotoxicity.

Salsolidine is a simple 1-substituted tetrahydroisoquinoline isolated from many natural sources as the racemate and in its enantiomeric modifications. Stereoselective competitive inhibition of MAO A was found with the R enantiomer of salsolidine (Ki = 6 uM). Salsolidine also inhibits acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and buytlcholinesterase (BChE). Salsolidine may inhibit catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). Derivatives of salsolidine are neurotoxic and cytotoxic. R enantiomer of salsolidine is more potent than the S form.

a-Isosparteine was originally isolated from Cytisus scoparius. It was isolated from two other legumes, Lupinus caudatus Kell. and Genista tinctoria L. a-Isosparteine exhibits basically the same action as does (-)-sparteine but possesses a more rapid onset and a shorter duration when compared using rat myocardial tissue. male Sprague-Dawley rats were found to metabolize sparteine and a-isosparteine to lupanine and alpha-isolupanine respectively in vivo. a-Isosparteine elicits intense interest because of its deployment as uniquely effective chiral ligand in a wide variety of metal-mediated enantioselective synthetic methods.

Eupatorin is a natural flavonoid isolated from the herbs of Eupatorium semiserratum. It has the anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative properties, which may be utilized in the development of novel anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor treatments. Eupatorin moderately inhibited human cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2). Eupatorin showed IC50 values of 0.4 ug/mL on T. cruzi epimastigotes and 61.8 ug/mL on trypomastigotes, respectively. It was demonstrated, that eupatorin exerts a vasorelaxative effect on aortic rings through the NO/sGC/cGMP and PGI2 pathways, calcium and potassium channels, muscarinic and beta-adrenergic receptors.