Yew

Yew is an evergreen conifer in the genus Taxus, distinguished by toxic tissues, fleshy seed coverings, and compounds used in cancer medicines.

Taxus: A genus of evergreen conifers whose species are commonly called yews. Yew belongs to this genus, which includes the species used medicinally and ornamentally.
Taxol biosynthesis: The sequence of biochemical reactions by which yews produce paclitaxel and related taxanes. This pathway shows how a yew makes a powerful drug in tiny quantities.
Docetaxel: A taxane chemotherapy drug that stabilizes microtubules and is used to treat several cancers. This related drug was designed from the yew-derived taxane precursor 10-deacetylbaccatin III.
Yew poisoning: Poisoning caused by ingestion of toxic yew tissues, especially leaves and seeds. Nearly all yew tissues contain taxines that can cause severe or fatal poisoning.
Aril: A fleshy structure that grows around or alongside a seed, often aiding its dispersal. The yew's red, cup-shaped aril surrounds its seed but is not itself poisonous.
Microtubule: A hollow protein filament that helps organize cells and forms the core of the mitotic spindle. Paclitaxel derived from yew prevents microtubules from disassembling during cell division.
Taxus baccata: The European yew, a long-lived conifer native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. This species supplies taxane precursors and is widely planted in gardens and hedges.
Taxus brevifolia: The Pacific yew, a North American conifer whose bark supplied the first commercial source of paclitaxel. Demand for its bark exposed the limits of sourcing a medicine from slow-growing wild trees.
Taxine alkaloids: A group of toxic alkaloids found in yew tissues that can disrupt cardiac electrical activity. These compounds account for much of the danger from eating yew leaves or seeds.
Mitosis: The process by which a eukaryotic cell divides its chromosomes into two daughter nuclei. Yew-derived paclitaxel disrupts this process by trapping microtubules in a stabilized state.

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