[00217] Abstract [00218] The present invention relates to a composition of anticancer drugs and to pharmaceutical composition for induction of apoptosis in diseased mammal cells and methods to identify such compounds. In particular, this invention relates to the use of composition comprising plant extracts and containing sclareol, sclareolide, sclareol-like, and sclareolide-like compounds for induction of apoptosis in diseased cells, particularly in cancer cells. The present invention also relates to methods for screening a mixture of components of an extract of a plant or other natural source using a fluorescent-based ligand-receptor interaction assay technique to identify a compound or a mixture of compounds that exhibits activity in the induction of apoptosis in diseased cells, particularly in cancer cells. The composition is administered through different modes and results in effective induction of apoptosis.
