Apoptosis is a highly regulated mechanism by which cells undergo cell death in an active way. As one of the most challenging tasks concerning cancer is to induce apoptosis in malignant cells, researchers increasingly focus on natural products to modulate apoptotic signaling pathways. This book reviews the main effects of natural compounds on the different apoptotic signaling pathways, including the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathways, the NF-kB-mediated pathway, the PI3K/Akt signaling, and other main pathways. Among the topic specially covered are: Effects of natural compounds on cancer cells Natural compounds as inducers of cell death Diet in health and disease Inflammation and cancer Natural compounds as kinase inhibitors Natural compounds in neurodegenerative diseases Natural compounds as inhibitors of ROS NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit www.blackwellpublishing.com/nyas . ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order ( www.nyas.org ). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to the Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information about becoming a member.