A phytochemical investigation of Seidlitzia rosmarinus collected along the shoreline of the Gulf of Aqaba in the remote southern desert region of the Sinai peninsula has revealed the presence of the registered drug metformin. However, analysis of the 14C content revealed the drug to be an anthropogenic contaminant. Consequently, natural product researchers should be aware that compounds isolated from plants might originate from environmental contamination rather than biosynthesis. The new natural product N-(4-hydroxyphenylethyl)-alpha-chloroferuloylamide was isolated as a mixture of the E and Z isomers along with a number of other well-established secondary metabolites.
During this presentation, the importance of natural products in drug discovery will be underlined with important examples from the history of human medicines and so recent accomplishments. However, landmark examples of drugs leaking into the environment and eventually being "discovered" is also provided and critically reviewed.