Natural product to modern discovery of their active ingredients and eventually to the development of new drugs. A large number of currently prescribed drugs have been either directly derived from or inspired by natural products. A few representative examples are listed below. Some of the oldest natural product based drugs are analgesics. The bark of the willow tree has been known from antiquity to have pain relieving properties. This is due to presence of the natural product salicin which in turn may be hydrolyzed into salicylic acid. A synthetic derivative acetylsalicylic acid better known as aspirin is a widely used pain reliever.
Ethyl eicosapentaenoic acid Ethyl eicosapentaenoic acid Ethyl eicosapentaenoic acid (E-EPA, icosapent ethyl) is a derivative of the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) that is used in combination with changes in diet to lower triglyceride levels in adults with severe (≥ 500 mg/dL) hypertriglyceridemia. This was the second class of fish oil-based drug to be approved for use as a drug and was approved by the FDA in 2012. These fish oil drugs are similar to fish oil dietary supplements but the ingredients are better controlled and have been tested in clinical trials. The company that developed this drug, Amarin Corporation, challenged the