Taxus baccata

Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer, and due to the numerous limitations of current treatment methods, there is an urgent need to develop novel approaches for both the prevention and treatment of malignant melanoma, with research-oriented bioactive substances representing a notable first step. The current study decided to expand on previous rhodoxanthin research by investigating the possible anti-tumor effect as well as the effect on the antioxidant status in the case of murine melanoma in an experimental model...

The active, poisonous constituents in Taxus baccata, the yew plants, are taxine alkaloids whose main action is suggested to be a block of calcium and sodium channels. The main alkaloids are taxine B (30%) and taxine A (1.3%). Symptoms can include bradycardia, bradypnea, diastolic, and cardiac standstill. The current investigation reports the analytical toxicology of human blood and urine to confirm a suspected ingestion of yew needles. This includes the qualitative detection of several yew ingredients, including the main alkaloids, the validated quantification of 3,5-dimethoxyphenol, and the discussion of suitable analytical targets...

More knowledge is needed about the molecular/cellular control of paclitaxel (PTX) production in Taxus spp. cell cultures. In this study, the yield of this anticancer agent in Taxus baccata cell suspensions was improved 11-fold after elicitation with coronatine (COR) compared to the untreated cells, and 18-fold when co-supplemented with methyl-β-cyclodextrins (β-CDs). In the dual treatment, the release of taxanes from the producer cells was greatly enhanced, with 81.6% of the total taxane content being found in the medium at the end of the experiment...

Ingestion of leaves of the European yew tree ( Taxus baccata ) can result in fatal cardiac arrhythmias and acute cardiogenic shock. This cardiotoxicity derives from taxine alkaloids that block cardiac voltage-gated sodium and calcium channels. Prompt initiation of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is essential to bridge these critically ill patients to recovery, as there is no antidote available. We here report a 39-year old patient with toxic cardiogenic shock after yew poisoning, who was successfully rescued by venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and had a full neurological recovery...

Taxus baccata L. cell culture is a promising commercial method for the production of taxanes with anti-cancer activities. In the present study, a T. baccata cell suspension culture was exposed to white light and 2-aminoindan-2-phosphonic acid (AIP), a phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) inhibitor, and the effects of this treatment on cell growth, PAL activity, total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), taxane production and the expression of some key taxane biosynthetic genes (DXS, GGPPS, T13OH, BAPT, DBTNBT) as well as the PAL were studied...

Light emitting diode (LED) lamps are increasingly being studied in cultivation of horticultural, ornamental and medicinal plants as means to increase yield, quality, stress resistance, and bioactive compounds content. Enhancing the production of metabolites for medicinal or pharmaceutical use by regulating LED intensity and spectra is a challenging subject, where promising results have been achieved. Nevertheless, some species have been poorly investigated, despite their interest as a source of medicinally active substances, with particular reference to LED effects at the plant cultivation level...

Taxus baccata L., an evergreen tree, was known until recently due to its high concentration of toxic compounds. The purpose of the present study was to focus on the only non-poisonous part, the red arils, which have recently been described as an important source of various bioactive constituents. To establish total phenolic, flavonoid, and carotenoid content, antioxidant capacity, and cytotoxic properties, two types of extracts were obtained. The chemical profile of the ethanolic extract was evaluated using chromatographic (HPLC-DAD-ESI+) and spectral (UV-Vis) methods, and the antioxidant activity of the ethanolic extract was assessed using DPPH and FRAP assays, yielding moderate results...

A 25-year-old woman presented with cardiogenic shock following intentional overdose of Common Yew ( Taxus baccata ). The pharmacological mechanisms underlying yew toxicity resulted in failure of multiple treatment modalities including inotropes, vasopressors and attempted pacing. Resuscitation was ultimately unsuccessful. The limited literature available on this kind of overdose suggests that early extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is the mainstay of treatment in severe cases presenting with hypotension and arrhythmias...

Although seed quality and quantity, as well as reproductive performance are important life history stages of plants, little is known about the reproductive responses of trees to environmental changes such as increased anthropogenic deposition of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Dioecious plants are good models with which to test the environmental impact on female or male reproductive responses individually. We analysed effects of different long-term nutritional availability on the reproductive performance of two dioecious species ( Taxus baccata L...

Repetitive elements (RE) and transposons (TE) can comprise up to 80% of some plant genomes and may be essential for regulating their evolution and adaptation. The "repeatome" information is often unavailable in assembled genomes because genomic areas of repeats are challenging to assemble and are often missing from final assembly. However, raw genomic sequencing data contain rich information about RE/TEs. Here, raw genomic NGS reads of 10 gymnosperm species were studied for the content and abundance patterns of their "repeatome"...

Poisoning from consumption of foraged alternative medicine products is an uncommon yet recognized occurrence. Here, presented is the case of a 40-year-old woman who was witnessed to collapse with labored breathing and subsequently died despite emergency medical personnel attendance and resuscitation efforts. Autopsy revealed the presence of plant matter that was visually identified as leaves from Taxus baccata - the English Yew. Isolation of alkaloids from the plant material and subsequent identification of the same alkaloids in the decedent's blood by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry indicated a toxicological cause of death...

Finding cytotoxic drugs with a high selectivity towards cancer cells is crucial to improve the low survival rates of patients diagnosed with metastatic cancers. Since plants are an important source of anticancer drugs, we have screened 65 extracts from 45 plants collected in several areas of Western Andalusia (Spain) for cytotoxic activity on lung cancer cells versus lung normal cells. An extract from the leaves of Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Mast. (Cupressaceae) showed a marked cytotoxicity (IC50 = 0.37 ± 0...

We present the case of a 46-year-old male who developed refractory bradycardia with cardiogenic shock after attempting suicide by ingestion of yew leaves. Due to delayed availability of the Digoxin immune fab, a va-ECMO was established to maintain sufficient circulation. Administration of the digoxin fab resulted in recovery of spontaneous circulation. Continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration with hemoadsorption and albumin dialysis were initiated with the intention to remove immune fab-toxin complexes and as organ support in acute kidney and liver failure...

Airborne pollen monitoring is of global socio-economic importance as it provides information on presence and prevalence of allergenic pollen in ambient air. Traditionally, this task has been performed by microscopic investigation, but novel techniques are being developed to automate this process. Among these, DNA metabarcoding has the highest potential of increasing the taxonomic resolution, but uncertainty exists about whether the results can be used to quantify pollen abundance. In this study, it is shown that DNA metabarcoding using trnL and nrITS2 provides highly improved taxonomic resolution for pollen from aerobiological samples from the Netherlands...

This study aimed at assessing the composition of bioactive compounds, including ascorbic acid, carotenoids and polyphenols, the volatile compound profile and the antioxidant activity of red arils (RAs) of Taxus baccata L. grown in diverse locations in Poland. Among the carotenoids assayed in high quantities (3.3-5.42 μg/g), the lycopene content (2.55-4.1 μg/g) was remarkably higher than that in many cultivated fruits. Samples collected from three sites were distinguished by higher amounts of ascorbic acid (125 mg/100 g, on average) than those found in many cultivated berries...

BACKGROUND: An ethnobotanical expedition was conducted to document the traditional ethnobotanical (TEB) uses of wild flora of Dawarian and Ratti Gali villages of District Neelam, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Pakistan. District Neelam has rich plant diversity and is hub of many endemic plant species while the study areas are not yet explored. The research area: Dawarian and Rati Gali (DRG) area is mountaineous terrain and villages are located on far and farther distances. DRG area has rich biocultural and plant diversity comprising of different ethnic groups of Kashmir state...

After drought-induced embolism and repair, tree xylem may be weakened against future drought events (cavitation fatigue). Since there are few data on cavitation fatigue in conifers available, we quantified vulnerability curves (VCs) after embolism/repair cycles on eight European conifer species. We induced 50 and 100% loss of conductivity (LC) with a cavitron, and analysed VCs. Embolism repair was obtained by vacuum infiltration. All species demonstrated complete embolism repair and a lack of any cavitation fatigue after 50% LC...

European yew (Taxus baccata) is a tree with alternate branchlets, green needles and reddish-brown bark. A high-dose ingestion of Taxus baccata for suicidal purposes usually results in death. The systemic toxicity is mainly cardiac. The authors describe the case of a young patient who ingested a high dose of yew needles and presented to the emergency department with a serious intoxication, which manifested as a chaotic malignant arrhythmia that was successfully treated after exhaustive supportive care.

Causes of secondary sexual dimorphism (SSD) in dioecious plants are very poorly understood, especially in woody plants. SSD is shown mainly in mature plants, but little is known about whether secondary sexual dimorphism can occur in juveniles. It is also assumed that stress conditions intensify differences between the sexes due to the uneven reproductive effort. Therefore, the following research hypotheses were tested: (1) secondary sexual dimorphism will be visible in juveniles; (2) unfavourable soil conditions are the cause of more pronounced differences between the sexes...

The botanical delimitation of Taxus species and cultivars may be facilitated by characterizing the pigment profiles of their red- and yellow-fleshed arils. Therefore, we determined genuine carotenoid profiles of differently colored arils of seven defined cultivars of Taxus baccata L. and Taxus × media Rehder. In-depth HPLC-DAD-ESI/APCI-MSn analyses revealed the presence of 43 carotenoids. Exceptional retro-carotenoids dominated the profiles of all samples assessed. Rhodoxanthin (E/Z)-isomers were predominant in the red-colored arils, resulting in a rather unusual abundance of carotenoid isomers as expressed by ratios of up to 1...