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

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)