Chinese yew is a medicinal plant which has the largest planted area, better economic effects and ecological benefits in our country. People have insufficient appreciation of centuries-old historical document and abundant cultural connotation of Chinese yew, because Chinese yew had no name in ancient times and some expressions of western countries are still cited at present. Therefore, this paper did a great deal of analysis and reference works focusing on synonym and byname of ancient Chinese yew. Excavation and classification of historical documents of Chinese yew from ancient classics and bibliography had been done by studying 3 503 books, about billions of words been recorded in the Si Ku Quan Shu. These researches made up for simple and inadequate contents of many large tool books, like Chinese materia medica and traditional Chinese medicine, and so on. At the same time, in order to change the situation of no name, uncertain channel tropism, irregular functions of Chinese yew, its property and flavor, channel tropism, effects and functions had been summarized. History of the tumor treatment of Chinese yew had been traced back to the time of Tang Dynasty and this was almost 1 200 years earlier than western countries.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Taxus

Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; Humans ; Myocarditis ; Taxus

OBJECTIVETo study the root microstructure and the distribution of the endophytic fungi in Taxus chinensis var. mairei.

METHODSThe roots of Taxus chinensis var. mairei at nature were cut with paraffin, dyed and observed by microscope.

RESULTSThe secondary structure of the roots of Taxus chinensis var. mairei consisted of the periderm and vascular cylinder (stele). Axial and radial systems formed the secondary xylem of the roots. Tracheids and xylary parenchyma cells constituted the axial system, and xylary radial formed the radial systems. The secondary phloem consisted of sieve cells and phloem parenchymas. Only a small quantity of phloem fibers were distributed in the secondary phloem, and the phloem ray was unconspicuous. Many endophytic mycelia penetrated in the velamina.

CONCLUSIONSThe secondary structure of the root of Taxus chinensis var. mairei accords with that of other gymnosperms and dicotyledons, although its secondary xylem is constituted with tracheids and sieve cells. The endophytic mycelia exists in the local cells of velamina in the roots of Taxus chinensis var. mairei.

The discovery of hydroxylases in the anticancer drug taxol biosynthesis pathway is a hotspot and difficulty in current research. In this study, a new hydroxylase gene TcCYP725A22 (GenBank accession number: MF448646.1) was used to construct a sub-cellular localization vector pCAMIBA1303-TcCYP725A22-EGFP to get the transient expression in onion epidermal cells. Laser confocal microscopy revealed that the protein encoded by this gene was localized in the cell membrane. Furthermore, the recombinant plant expression plasmid pBI121-TcCYP725A22 was constructed. After transient transformation to the Taxus chinensis mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404, qRT-PCR and LC-MS were utilized to analyze the effects of TcCYP725A22 overexpression on the synthesis of taxol. The results showed that, in the TcCYP725A22 overexpressed cell line, expression levels of most defined hydroxylase genes for taxol biosynthesis were increased, and the yield of taxanes were also increased. It was concluded that the hydroxylase gene TcCYP725A22 is likely involved in the biosynthetic pathway of taxol.
Biosynthetic Pathways ; Mixed Function Oxygenases ; Paclitaxel ; Taxoids ; Taxus

Plants synthesize certain phytoconstituents for their protection, which, because they are not of primary need, are known as secondary metabolites. These secondary metabolites of plants, have often been found to have medicinal uses for human beings. One such gymnosperm having secondary metabolites of medicinal potential for humans is Taxus wallichiana (Himalayan yew). Besides being the source of taxol, this plant has been investigated for its essential oil, diterpenoids, lignans, steroids, sterols and biflavonoids. Traditionally, it is used to treat disorders of the digestive, respiratory, nervous and skeletal systems. Although pharmacologically underexplored, it has been used for antiepileptic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antipyretic, analgesic, immunomodulatory and antimicrobial activities. The present review compiles traditional uses, phytochemical constituents (specifically the secondary metabolites) pharmacological activities and the toxicity of T. wallichiana.
Ethnopharmacology ; Humans ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Preparations ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Plant Structures ; Plants, Medicinal ; Taxus ; chemistry

Taxol is a secondary metabolite with prominent anti-tumor activity, but the yield cannot meet the growing clinical demand due to lower content in yew. Now, most enzyme genes involved in taxol biosynthesis have been cloned and identified, so that obtaining this drug by using synthetic biology method has become a hotspot in recent years. However, most hydroxylases involved in taxol biosynthetic pathway have not been explored. Here, we reviewed the progress on the biosynthesis pathway of taxol, especially concerning hydroxylase. The future research areas of taxol biosynthesis through synthetic biology were also discussed to provide basis for the discovery of uncharacterized hydroxylase genes and the mass taxol production by synthetic biology technology.
Biosynthetic Pathways ; Mixed Function Oxygenases ; metabolism ; Paclitaxel ; biosynthesis ; Synthetic Biology ; Taxus ; enzymology

Taxol is one of the most important chemotherapeutic drugs against cancer. Taxol has been mainly extracted from the bark of yews for a long time. However, methods for the extraction of taxol from the bark of Taxus species were inefficient and environmentally costly. As a result of the high ecological toll exacted on trees with the potential for Pacific yew extinction, investigators began to look for other methods of taxol production. Recently, increasing efforts have been made to develop alternative means of taxol production, such as using complete chemical synthesis, semi-synthesis, Taxus spp. plant cell culture and microbe fermentation. Using microbe fermentation in the production of taxol would be a very prospective method for obtaining a large amount of taxol. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the molecular basis and genetic regulation mechanisms of taxol biosynthesis by endophytic fungi, which may be helpful to construct the genetic engineering strain with high taxol output. In this paper, the taxol biosynthesis pathway from Taxus cells and the advantages of taxol biosynthesis by endophytic fungi were discussed. The study on the isolation and biodiversity of taxol-producing endophytic fungi and the taxol biosynthesis related genes are also discussed.
Endophytes ; Fungi ; Industrial Microbiology ; Microorganisms, Genetically-Modified ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Paclitaxel ; biosynthesis ; Taxus ; chemistry

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is helpful during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), because it can be used to confirm good apposition or optimal expansion of stents. In this study, we compared angiographic result as well as clinical outcomes between two different strategies of IVUS-guidance, the selective vs. the routine. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 279 patients undergoing electric and emergency intracoronary implatation of TAXUS stent from August 2003 through September 2006. For this study, we divided physicians into two groups; doctors to perform PCI under 'routine' IVUS-guidance vs. PCI under 'selective' IVUS-guidance. Among a total of 279 patients (384 lesions) who underwent PCI with TAXUS stent, 87 patients underwent the procedure under the strategy of 'routine' IVUS-guidance, whereas 192 patients under 'selective' IVUS-guidance. RESULTS: The baseline clinical features of the patients are similar between the two groups. The actual rate of IVUS usage was 89.2% in the routine group and 68.2% in the selective group (p<0.01). A high rate of adjunctive ballooning was determined as a remarkable procedure-related parameter which was comparable between the two groups (72.5% vs. 76.1% in routine vs. selective, p=0.57). The minimal lumen diameter at immediate post-PCI was significantly larger in the routine IVUS group than that in the selective group (2.58 mm vs. 2.48 mm, p=0.03). However, the difference disappeared during the follow-up period (1.98 mm vs. 1.98 mm, p=0.94). Clinical outcomes at 1 year were not different between the two groups. CONCLUSION: PCI under the strategy of 'selective' IVUS-guidance was comparable to PCI under 'routine' IVUS-guidance in terms of angiographic and clinical outcomes in circumstances with frequent use of adjunctive ballooning after stenting.
Drug-Eluting Stents ; Emergencies ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Stents ; Taxus ; Ultrasonography, Interventional

Produced by and purified from Taxus brevifolia, Taxol (paclitaxel) has become a widely used cancer drug in clinic. Due to the rapid growing market, current industrial production of taxol by semi-synthesis that consumes large amount of Taxus trees cannot meet the requirement of the market. The discovery of taxol-producing fungus Taxomyces andeanae, an endophyte of T. brevifolia, by Stierle et al (1993), paves a new way to the production of the drug, i.e. employing large-scale fungal fermentation to make Taxol at lower cost and yet higher yield. This review discusses the present problems in taxol production in pharmaceutical industry, the finding and research progress on taxol-producing fungi, and the potential application of fungal fermentation to manufacture this important drug.
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; biosynthesis ; Fermentation ; Mitosporic Fungi ; metabolism ; Paclitaxel ; biosynthesis ; Taxus ; microbiology ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; methods

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents in seeds of Taxus mairei.

METHODPreparative HPLC, TLC and spectroscopic analyses were used to isolate and elucidate the chemical constituets in the plant.

RESULTSeven taxane diterpenoids were isolated from the seeds of T. mairei and identified as taxinine A(1), 9-deacetyltaxinine(2), 9-deacetyltaxinine E(3), 2-deacetyltaxinine(4), taxezopidine G(5), 2-deacetoxytaxinine J(6), 2-deacetoxytaxuspine C(7).

CONCLUSIONExcept compounds 5,6, all the compounds were obtained from seeds of this plant for the first time.