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Radiation Oncology/Drugs/Ethnopharmacologic therapeutic agent/Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia)

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  • Pacific yew is native to the Coast Range of British Columbia and the northwest coast of the United States
    • It is also found in a few areas farther inland
  • Local First Nations identified Pacific yew as a plant with medicinal properties, making teas from the needles and bark, and applying crushed needles to wounds
    • They also used the extremely hard wood for implements that needed to withstand strain, such as fishhooks and paddles
  • In 1971, researchers identified a chemical compound in Pacific yew called paclitaxel
    • It was later approved for use against ovarian and certain types of beast cancer and is sold under the trade name Taxol®
    • It is now also approved for use against an AIDS-related cancer
  • Research continues into other medical uses for paclitaxel and also for new compounds derived from or related to it
  • D G Kingston et al. J Nat Prod. Jul-Aug 1982. New taxanes from Taxus brevifolia (PMID: 7130988)