Infertility, a couple’s inability to conceive after one year of unprotected regular intercourse, is an important issue in the world. The use of natural products in the treatment of infertility has been considered as a possible alternative to conventional therapies. The present study aimed to investigate the effects and the mechanisms of various natural products on infertility. We collected articles regarding infertility and natural products using the research databases PubMed and Google Scholar. Several natural products possess antioxidant properties and androgenic activities on productive factors and hormones. Antioxidants are the first defense barrier against free radicals produced by oxidative stress (OS). They remove reactive oxygen stress (ROS), reducing insulin resistance, total cholesterol, fat accumulation, and cancer growth. Moreover, various natural products increase endometrial receptivity and fertility ability showing androgenic activities on productive factors and hormones. For example, Angelica keiskei powder and Astragalus mongholicus extract showed anti-infertility efficacies in males and females, respectively. On the other hand, adverse effects and acute toxicity of natural products were also reported. Tripterygium glycoside decreased fertility ability both in males and females. Results indicate that management of infertility with natural products could be beneficial with further clinical trials to evaluate the safety and effect.

Primary liver cancer was the seventh most diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death with about 906,000 cases and 830,000 deaths, respectively, in 2020. Conventional treatment for liver cancer, such as transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or sorafenib, has limitations in that there is the recurrence of cancer, drug inefficacy, and adverse effects. Traditional medicine and natural products of several regions including Korea, China, Europe, North America, India, and the Middle East have attracted a lot of attention since they have been reported to have anticancer effects with low adverse effects. In this review, several in vivo studies on the effects of natural compounds on liver cancer and clinical trials approving their therapeutic benefits were selected and discussed. As a result of the analysis of these studies, the effects of natural compounds were classified into a few mechanisms: apoptosis, anti-metastasis, and antiangiogenesis. In addition, medications including natural products in clinical trials were observed to exhibit improvements in various liver cancer symptoms and patients’ survival rates. This study presents findings suggestive of the anticancer potential of natural products and their properties in relieving related symptoms.