Isomitraphylline and pteropodine are the most suitable for standardization of medical cat's claw preparations. Isomitraphylline can inhibit proliferation of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells.

Arctiin(NSC 315527), a plant lignan that can be extracted from the Arctium lappa (burdock) seeds, is a possible environmental endocrine disruptor compound and have been shown to influence sex hormone metabolism as well as protein synthesis, steroid biosynthesis.

1, 5-Isoquinolinediol is an inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase (PARP1; IC50: 0.39 μM).