Paclitaxel.
Zhang Y, Shi J, Fernie AR
Crop Improvement
Cancer drug in your garden's yew hedge — or the Pacific yew in old-growth forests — is one of medicine's most important compounds, and finding better ways to make it could save both lives and ancient trees.
There is a medicine called paclitaxel that doctors use to treat several types of cancer, and it originally came from the bark of yew trees. It works by jamming the machinery that cancer cells use to split apart and multiply. Because stripping bark from yew trees is destructive and slow, scientists are searching for smarter ways to grow or produce this compound without harming the trees.
Key Findings
Paclitaxel inhibits microtubule disassembly, blocking cancer cell division — a well-established and potent anti-cancer mechanism.
The drug is naturally sourced from yew trees (genus Taxus), raising supply and sustainability challenges.
Future production strategies are being explored to reduce dependence on harvesting from slow-growing yew trees.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Paclitaxel is a powerful cancer-fighting drug originally derived from yew trees that works by preventing cancer cells from dividing. Researchers are now exploring new ways to produce it more sustainably, since harvesting it from trees is slow and limited.
Abstract Preview
In this quick guide Zhang et al. introduce the microtubule disassembly inhibitor and potent anti-cancer drug paclitaxel, describing where it is sourced and its mode of action as well as future prod...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Taxus brevifolia, the Pacific yew or western yew, is a species of tree in the yew family Taxaceae native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. It is a small evergreen conifer, thriving in moisture and otherwise tending to take the form of a shrub.