Cytotoxic natural products from thai plants: a recent study.

Natural products will continue to be the most prolific source of bioactive compounds. Natural products exhibiting antitumor activity continue to be the subject of extensive research aimed at the development of drugs for the treatment of different human tumors. It is generally accepted that natural products offer a diversity and complexity of structure unmatched by even the most active imaginations of synthetic organic chemists. This paper reviews the research of selected Thai plants for the discovery of therapeutic agents. Attention will be focused on our recent research on Thai plants that possess cytotoxic properties. Synthetic modification and reaction of some of these compounds aimed at enhancing their potency will also be presented.