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Antitumor Potential and other Emerging Medicinal Properties of Natural Compounds pp 407–417Cite as

Achievements, Questions Arising and Future Outlook on the Path to Discover New Medicinal Compounds

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Abstract

Nature nourishes an inexhaustible drug bank which can be exploited to treat human diseases. On the way to find different natural drugs, significant strides have been made, including the discovery of antitumor drugs (such as paclitaxel/taxol), drugs against chronic diseases (such as ginsenosides, genipin), and drugs against infectious diseases (artemisinin) or even drugs that promote longevity (resveratrol, rapamycin, and spermidine). In this chapter we will give a brief description of the previous accomplishments and current problems on drug screening from natural sources. Further perspectives in this field will also be discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Vilhelm A. Bohr and Dr. Peter Sykora at NIH for invaluable feedback and critically reading of the manuscript, and Dr. Chuan-hao Li (Department of Chemistry of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Department of Chemistry of Anhui University) for drawing Fig. 27.1. This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Progarm of the NIH, National Institute on Aging, USA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA

    Evandro Fei Fang

  2. School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

    Tzi Bun Ng

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  1. Evandro Fei Fang
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Correspondence to Evandro Fei Fang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Bayview Boulevard Street 251, Baltimore, 21224-6825, Maryland, USA

    Evandro Fei Fang

  2. , School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

    Tzi Bun Ng

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Fang, E.F., Ng, T.B. (2013). Achievements, Questions Arising and Future Outlook on the Path to Discover New Medicinal Compounds. In: Fang, E., Ng, T. (eds) Antitumor Potential and other Emerging Medicinal Properties of Natural Compounds. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6214-5_27

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