Natural Products

Natural products are chemical compounds produced by living organisms, found in nature, and include both primary metabolites and secondary metabolites. These range from simple molecules, like urea, to complex structures, such as paclitaxel. While natural products can be chemically synthesized (semi-synthetically or synthetically), they have historically played a pivotal role in organic chemistry by presenting challenging synthetic targets. Due to their diverse structures and wide range of sources, natural products are invaluable in disease prevention and treatment, serving as a major source of lead compounds for drug development. Recently, they have seen extensive use in food, cosmetics, and health products, demonstrating significant application value.