Consider the following statements: 1. The Taxus tree is naturally found in the Himalayas. 2. The Taxus tree is listed in the Red Data Book. 3. A drug called “taxol” is obtained from Taxus tree is effective against Parkinson’s disease. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: (b) 1 and 2 only

The Himalayan yew grows naturally in the Himalaya and is on the Red Data list; taxol is an anti-cancer drug.

The idea

The Himalayan yew is a slow-growing conifer of cool, shady mountain forest. Its bark contains taxol, a strong anti-cancer drug. To get the bark the tree is stripped, and a stripped tree dies. Heavy collection for the drug trade pushed the species towards extinction.

Bark contains taxol → Demand from drug makers → Trees stripped across the Himalaya → Slow growth: cannot recover → Listed as threatened

The trap

The drug is real — the disease is swapped.

Also know

Other medicines from plants: quinine from cinchona bark (malaria), artemisinin from Artemisia (malaria), vincristine from the periwinkle or sadabahar (blood cancer), reserpine from sarpagandha (high blood pressure). The Parkinson’s drug L-dopa is found in the seeds of the velvet bean (kaunch).