Recently, researchers announced at a meeting of the American Chemical Society that they had isolated this compound from hazel trees and fungi. This discovery may provide enough new sources for the drug, and may also greatly reduce its cost. Paclitaxel, also known as paclitaxel, is one of the most popular cancer drugs in the world. It is used to treat uterine cancer and breast cancer, and many breast cancer patients still take it to prevent the recurrence of cancer. Although the supply of this drug is still sufficient, the demand may increase soon: researchers are testing the efficacy of this drug for Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and other cancers. If the drug is really effective for the above diseases, then the drug will become in short supply. Because the drug is extracted from the needles of Taxus Pacific and then processed. Taxus Pacific is an endangered plant, which grows on the Pacific northwest coast of North America. Angela Hoffman, a chemist at Portland University in Oregon, USA, has been looking for ways to increase the yield of taxol in Taxus chinensis. Unexpectedly, she found a new source of the compound in another completely unrelated research topic. She and her colleagues were studying hazel trees, trying to find out why some hazel trees were more susceptible to Fusarium wilt. The disease destroyed hazel trees in Willamette Valley, Oregon. The researchers extracted extracts from several hazel trees and purified and analyzed these samples. Hoffman found the chemical characteristics of paclitaxel in it. Hoffman and her colleagues found that the leaves, branches and fruits of hazelnut contain paclitaxel, although the content is only 10% of that of Taxus chinensis. They also found that fungi growing on hazel trees can also produce paclitaxel. David Hawke said that in the end, the discovery of fungi may be the most valuable. David Hawke is a natural product expert in a pharmaceutical company in Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA. He said that yew also contains taxol-producing fungi. Hawke stressed that if the drug can be produced in vats with fungi, "it will definitely be valuable." Supplement:
Is this it? Chinese name: Taxus chinensis scientific name: Taxaceae alias: Taxus chinensis, Pinus densiflora: Taxus chinensis history: it is a rare and endangered natural anticancer plant recognized in the world. The ancient tree species left over from Quaternary glaciers have a history of 2.5 million years on the earth. Development value: Evergreen needles and exotic red bean fruits with big cherries are rare and endangered plants left over from the 4th century glaciers. Rare in the world, it is listed as a national key protected plant. Their wood is very good, red and bright, tough and durable, and it is a precious timber tree species. Especially because it contains paclitaxel, a specific anticancer drug, it is very precious. This magical drug is the best anticancer drug in the world after adriamycin and cisplatin. It is the best-selling and hottest new anticancer drug in the international market so far, and it is also the last line of defense for patients with advanced cancer, which has high development and utilization value. Efficacy of Taxus chinensis: diuresis, detumescence, treatment of nephropathy, diabetes, nephritis edema, dysuria, gonorrhea, etc. Warming kidney and dredging channels, treating irregular menstruation, postpartum blood stasis, dysmenorrhea and other effective effects. 2009-06-04