Table 1.
Examples of compounds derived from plants, animals, and micro‐organisms
| Natural source | Compounds of proven efficacy (indication) | Compounds of unproven or doubtful efficacy, or an unfavourable benefit/harm balance, or not used because of toxicity |
|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||
| Herbs | Hypericum perforatum (mild depression) | Echinacea; Piper methysticum; Aristolochia |
| Nonherbal plants | ||
| Trees/vines | ||
| Leaves | Artemisinin (malaria); digoxin (atrial fibrillation) | Green tea (catechins, polyphenols*) |
| Bark | Quinine (malaria); salicylates (fevers); taxol (cancers) | |
| Seeds/pods | Ispaghula (laxative); senna (laxative) | Guaraná |
| Roots | Emetine (amoebiasis) | |
| Fruits | Raspberry ketone; resveratrol (a polyphenol) | |
| Nuts | Omega‐3 fatty acids; arecoline | |
| Cereals | Prebiotics and dietary fibre; Zea mays | |
| Vegetables | Capsaicin (postherpetic neuralgia) | Prebiotics and dietary fibre |
| Mammals | ||
| Dairy products | Milk hydrolysates; ghee | |
| Tissues | Insulin (diabetes mellitus); growth hormone (growth impairment); melatonin (jet lag) | Melatonin (aid to sleep); bear bile; gangliosides; glycosaminoglycans |
| Fish, shellfish | Calcitonin | Omega‐3 fatty acids; tetrodotoxin; carp bile; green tipped mussel; imedeen; oyster extract; shark cartilage; squalene |
| Reptiles | Dendrotoxin; rattlesnake meat; toad venom | |
| Worms | Hirudin (anticoagulant) | |
| Insects | Apamin; cantharides; charybdotoxin; propolis; royal jelly | |
| Micro‐organisms | ||
| Fungi | Penicillin (infections) | Psilocybin; mycotoxins |
| Algae | Laminaria | |
| Bacteria | Antibiotics from Actinomycetes, e.g. streptomycin, tetracyclines, macrolides (infections) | Probiotics (e.g. bifidobacteria, Escherichia coli Nissle 1917, lactobacilli); Kombucha ‘mushroom’ |
*
Natural polyphenols form a diverse group of hundreds of different substances, including flavonoids and nonflavonoids, found widespread in plants, insects, crustaceans, and other animals 7.