Medical Clinic
HOME REMEDIES
HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES
HERBAL MEDICINES
MEDICAL TESTS
DISEASES
DRUGS
CONTACT US
Slippery Elm
Smokeless Tobacco
Soapwort
Soy
Spirulina
Squill
St. John's Wort
Strorax
Sweet Vernal Grass
Thunder God Vine
Tolu Balsam
Tonka Bean
Tragacanth
Trillium
Tung Seed
Turpentine
Veratrum
Willard Water
Willow Bark
Wine
Wintergreen
Woodruff, Sweet
Wormwood
Yellow Root
Yerba Santa
Yew
Yohimbe
Yucca


Yew

Scientific Name(S): Taxus bacatta L. and T. cuspidata Sieb. and Zucc. The native species of the US, T. canadensis Marsh. is found throughout the eastern United States; other species found in North America include T. floridana Nutt. and the western or California yew, T. brevifolia Nutt. Family: Taxaceae

Common Name(S): Yew, ground hemlock

Botany

This common evergreen is found throughout woods and forests and is often used as an ornamental hedge bush. The trunk supports a crown of spreading branches with long, narrow, dark green shiny leaves. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers being produced on different trees. The ovoid seed is black and is surrounded by a red, fleshy covering called the aril. Yews flower in March and April.

Uses

The yew plant has been used to treat rheumatisms, liver and urinary tract conditions, and most recently to treat cancer cells.

Side Effects

The ingestion of the plant results in dizziness, dry mouth, mydriasis, and abdominal cramping. Rash and pale cyanotic skin may develop. It may eventually result in death.

History

The Celts coated their arrows with yew sap as a nerve toxicant. The alkaloid taxine has been used as an antispasmodic. A tincture of the leaves had been used to treat rheumatisms and liver and urinary tract conditions.

Chemistry

The entire plant, with the exception of the red, fleshy aril, contains approximately 19 taxane alkaloids, of which the best known is taxine. Other alkaloids (milossine, ephedrine), the glycoside taxicatin, paclitaxel and its derivatives, and pigments are found throughout the plant. Bristol-Myers Squibb recently received FDA approval to market paclitaxel (Taxol) as an antineoplastic agent for ovarian cancer, and concern has been raised regarding the environmental impact of debarking Pacific yew trees to harvest the drug. Consequently, methods have been developed to produce paclitaxel from precursors found in the leaves, twigs and needles of yews common in Europe and Asia, and others are attempting to synthesize paclitaxel from pinene, a common compound found in pine trees. Paclitaxel content varies from 0.00003% to 0.069% of the plant. The approved generic name, paclitaxel, was previously referred to as "taxol." Taxol is now the trademarked brand name for paclitaxel.

Summary

The yew has been used in herbal medicine for centuries. The plant is now considered to be of major medical importance, with one extract approved for its antineoplastic activity. Because it is one of the most common foundation plantings in North America, it is often associated with childhood and animal poisonings. All parts of the plant are toxic with the exception of the red fruit.


Bookmark and Share

(c)Copyright Medical-clinic.org All rights reserved.

Disclaimer : All information on Medical-clinic.org is for educational and information purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, please consult your doctor. We will not be liable for any complications, or other medical accidents arising from the use of any information on this web site.