Taxanes in rooted cuttings vs. mature Japanese yew

Abstract

Two novel taxanes were identified from rooted cuttings of the Japanese yew, Taxus cuspidata Sieb. et Zucc. Their structures were characterized as taxa-4(20),11-dien-2α,5α-diacetate-14β-(2'S,3'R)-3'-hydroxy-2'-methylbutyrate-10-β-glucoside (1) and 2α,5α,9α,10β-tetraacetoxy-13α-(Z)-cinnamoyloxy-taxa-4(20),11-diene (2). In addition, metabolites 3–43 were also characterized in the same cuttings. Taxanes 3–16 as well as three non-taxane metabolites (17–19) have not previously been reported in the needles, stems, seeds, or bark of the mature T. cuspidata plant, although they have been found in other yews. The known taxanes 20–43 were also detected for the first time in the rooted cuttings of the Japanese yew. Key words: Taxus cuspidata, Taxacae, taxanes, rooted cuttings, metabolites.