Taxus baccata L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 2

Taxus baccata L.

Names.

Myanmar: kyauk-tinyu. English: yew.

Range.

Europe, North Africa, western Asia. In Myanmar found in Chin and Shan.

Conservation status.

Least Concern [LC] ( IUCN 2017).

Uses.

Leaf, Fruit: Used as an antispasmodic, sedative, and as an emmenagogue.

Notes.

In India the leaf and fruit are used as an antispasmotic, sedative, and emmenagogue ( Jain and DeFilipps 1991). The leaf is also used as an aphrodisiac; to treat epilepsy, asthma, indigestion, and bronchitis. Other medicinal uses for this species include expectorant, pectoral, sedative, stomachic, tonic; abortifacient, antifertility (chemical found in plant shown to be effective for this purpose), contraceptive; for headache, bilious, calculus, for cancer, carminative, cyanogenetic, epilepsy, lithontriptic, medicine Tacholm; giddiness, nerves, spasm; poison, vermifuge, insecticide ( Duke 2009).

The leaves and seeds of Taxus species contain the alkaloid taxine which is poisonous, "and while Taxus is sometimes used as medicine this also has caused instances of poisoning" ( Perry 1980).

Reference.

Nordal (1963).