ABSTRACT
With the evolution of the human race, terrestrial plants and animals have started to not only be exploited as sources of food, but also to increase the quality of life by, e.g., providing material to craft clothes, housing, weapons or tools of all kinds. With modern societies developing, mankind started to use extracts made from living beings for diverse purposes, not knowing about the actual chemical constituents exhibiting the properties they were striving to use. Examples include the use of venomous preparations to facilitate hunting and the application of
fragrant or colourful plants and animals to create perfumes or dyed clothes, respectively. The importance of nature-derived chemicals, so-called natural products, is even evident in our modern life. In particular, the ancient use of herbal remedies for the treatment of diverse maladies has translated into highly important biomedical agents developed by pharmaceutical companies that are of utmost importance to date (for selected reviews on the importance of natural products for the development of pharmaceuticals, cf. Cragg, Newman and Snader 1997; Newman, Cragg and Snader 2003; Butler 2004; Newman and Cragg 2007, 2012).
