A dairy farmer once walked into the Department of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin complaining that the prize specimens in his herd were succumbing to a weird ailment symptomised by uncontrollable internal bleeding. The department researched the problem, and the source of the mystery was traced to a plant in the animals' diet, and more specifically to a chemical substance within that plant: dicumarin. This naturally generated chemical within sweetclover was wreaking havoc upon the plant's primary predator on account of its biological activity. When further analysed, it was found to have anti-coagulant activity across a wide range of animals. When these discoveries were patented (under the tradename WARFRIN) and marketed, they resulted in massive commercial sales as both the world's major rodenticide and also as an important medical treatment for stroke victims.

This is one example, from the developed world, of the trail that is traced between the natural generation of biologically active chemicals and their ultimate commercial utilisation. Not every naturally produced chemical has so well-documented a trail or so illustrious a career (as it was WARFRIN that was used to treat President Eisenhower after his stroke), but the anecdote serves as an illustration of how nature, observant human communities, chemical researchers and patent lawyers together combine to create useful products.