Wheeler N C, Jech K, Masters S, Brobst S W, Alvarado A B, Hoover A J, Snader K M
Weyerhaeuser Research Center, Centralia, Washington 98531.
J Nat Prod. 1992 Apr;55(4):432-40. doi: 10.1021/np50082a005.
The demand for taxol, a promising cancer chemotherapeutic agent, far exceeds supply. Presently, taxol is derived from the bark of the Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, a small, slow-growing evergreen tree native to the northwestern United States. Knowledge of the distribution and magnitude of genetic and non-genetic sources of variation in taxol content in the genus Taxus is necessary if supply issues are to be met through plant harvesting. Analytical determinations of taxol, cephalomannine, and baccatin III in more than 200 trees representing several populations of T. brevifolia and other yew taxa indicate that (1) significant variation in taxane content exists among and within populations and species, (2) taxol levels exceeding those reported for T. brevifolia bark were found in shoots of individual trees from most taxa studied, and (3) the season in which samples are collected and handling procedures can influence taxane content.
紫杉醇是一种很有前景的癌症化疗药物，其需求量远远超过供应量。目前，紫杉醇是从太平洋紫杉（短叶红豆杉）的树皮中提取的，短叶红豆杉是一种原产于美国西北部的小型、生长缓慢的常绿乔木。如果要通过采集植物来解决供应问题，就必须了解红豆杉属植物中紫杉醇含量的遗传和非遗传变异来源的分布及程度。对代表短叶红豆杉和其他红豆杉类群几个种群的200多棵树中的紫杉醇、cephalomannine和巴卡亭III进行分析测定表明：（1）紫杉烷含量在种群之间和种群内部以及物种之间存在显著差异；（2）在所研究的大多数类群的单株树木的嫩枝中发现了超过报道的短叶红豆杉树皮中紫杉醇含量水平；（3）采集样品的季节和处理程序会影响紫杉烷含量。
