Taxus brevifolia
(Yew)
Therapeutic Actions:
- Ability to ploymerize tubulin in the absence of cofactors
- Break down of the mitotic spindle during mitosis is
blocked and the cell can no longer divide into daughter cells
- Binds to the microtubules and inhibits their depolymerization
into tubulin
- Prevents cancer cells from replicating
- Targets the rapidly dividing cancer cells
- There may exist other mechanisms also by which the anticancer
activity of paclitaxel works
Clinical Indications:
- Advanced breast carcinomas
- Central nervous system carcinoma
- Cancer - colon, ovarian
- Hepatocellular carcinoma
- Kidney carcinoma
- Leukemias
- Lung carcinoma
- Melanomas
- Pancreatic carcinoma
Contraindications:
Drug/Nutrient Interaction:
Chemical Constituents:
Benzenoids
Diterpenes including paclitaxel, sold under the name
Taxol
Enzymes
Flavonoids
Glycosides
Lignans including isotaxiresinol
Toxicity:
- Very poisonous
- Symptoms including:
CNS depressant
Leucopenia
Nausea
Copyright 1998 - 2008 by L. Vicky Crouse, ND and James S. Reiley, ND. All rights reserved (ISSN 1527-0661).