Taxine alkaloids
group of chemical compounds
Taxine alkaloids, which are often named under the collective title of taxines, are the toxic chemicals that can be isolated from the yew tree. The amount of taxine alkaloids depends on the species of yew, with Taxus baccata and Taxus cuspidata containing the most. The major taxine alkaloids are taxine A and taxine B although there are at least 10 different alkaloids. Until 1956, it was believed that all the taxine alkaloids were one single compound named taxine.
The taxine alkaloids are cardiotoxins with taxine B being the most active. Taxine alkaloids have no medical uses but Paclitaxel and other taxanes that can be isolated from yews have been used as chemotherapy drugs.
Provenance
Taxine can be found in Taxus species: Taxus cuspidata, T. baccata (English yew), Taxus x media, Taxus canadensis, Taxus floridana, and Taxus brevifolia (Pacific or western yew). All of these species contain taxine in every part of the plant except in the aril, the fleshy covering of the seeds (berries). Concentrations vary between species, leading to varying toxicities within the genus. This is the case of Taxus brevifolia (Pacific yew) and Taxus baccata (English yew); T. baccata contains high taxine concentrations, which leads to a high toxicity, whereas T. brevifolia has a low toxicity.
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