In a classical alphabetical format, this two-volume reference covers more than 1000 painstakingly screened natural product structures. For each compound or compound class, a basic chemical characterization is given, followed by a description of the biological source and a discussion of their pharmaceutical potential as lead molecules for new drugs. The latter takes into account the documented uses of many of these compounds in Asian traditional medicine.
By way of its clearly structured, single-page articles, and with the aid of classification tables in the appendix, this dictionary is easy to use and provides quick and reliable information researchers as well for scholars and students

The dictionary contains an alphabetical listing of more than 1000 natural products for which a pharmaceutical use is known or has been suggested.

Compounds have been selected from the following chemical classes:

- Flavonoids
- Xanthonoids
- Alkaloids
- Terpenoids
- Steroids
- Coumarins
- Chalcones
- Polyketides
- Phenolics
- Carbohydrates
- Peptides
- Proteins
- Antibiotics

Each compound is described on about one full page in terms of molecular formula, chemical structure, natural source(s), natural derivatives, pharmaceutical potential.

An appendix contains extensive tables of substances classified by compound class, by origin, and by pharmaceutical use.