2. Natural products

Natural products (NPs) represent a large family of diverse secondary metabolites with profound biological activities. NPs are produced in several organisms like bacteria, fungi, plants and marine animals. NPs are inexpensive and have less (or) no side effects; hence, NPs are currently being explored as an invaluable source for treatment of cancerous and infectious diseases. As of 2013, 1453 new chemical entities (NCEs) have been approved by the US FDA, of which 40% are NPs or NP-inspired (semi-synthetic NP derivatives, synthetic compounds based on NP pharmacophores, or NP mimics) [8, 9]. A number of NPs Such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, polyketides, lignans, saponins, peptides and plant extracts exhibited potent anti-CML activity.
