Taxus chinensis, also known as Taxus chinensis, is a precious plant on the verge of extinction. As a national first-class protected tree species, it has important medicinal value. At present, it is mainly used to extract and prepare anticancer drugs. Many folk people think that wild yew is the treasure of the whole body, saying that the bark and fruit of yew are used for making wine and the leaves of yew are used for making tea; Using the trunk of Taxus chinensis to make water cups, Buddha statues and furniture can prevent and treat cancer. Life Times interviewed Li Peiwen, the chief physician of the Department of Oncology of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in China and Japan Hospital, and Ma Liping, a professor from guangxi university of chinese medicine, on October 7, 2010, and refuted this rumor. In fact, the extraction process of taxol anticancer substances contained in Taxus chinensis is very complicated and the processing procedure is very strict. Moreover, "paclitaxel" is completely insoluble in solvents such as water and alcohol, so boiling water and soaking wine with yew has no anticancer effect.
In 2002, the former Ministry of Health issued the Notice of the Ministry of Health on Further Standardizing the Management of Raw Materials for Health Foods (No.51[2002]), which clearly listed Taxus chinensis in the Catalogue of Prohibited Items for Health Foods, and prohibited the use of Taxus chinensis as health foods and food raw materials. In 2006, the announcement of "prohibiting the production and operation of food containing yew ingredients" was issued again. According to the announcement, "scientific research shows that Taxus chinensis is very toxic. Without the guidance of a doctor, long-term consumption in large quantities may have serious toxic and side effects such as inhibiting bone marrow hematopoietic function and leukopenia. Taxus chinensis is not a new resource food. The poisoning manifestations of people who eat yew by mistake are mainly dizziness, dilated pupils, nausea, vomiting, diffuse abdominal pain, muscle weakness and other symptoms. In severe cases, bradycardia, cardiac arrest or death occurred, and pathological examination showed pulmonary edema, congestion and bleeding. Changes such as myocardial hemorrhage and myocarditis. "
On 20 16, some media reported the poisoning incident of Taxus chinensis. A man in Jinhua entertained his relatives with homemade yew wine. After drinking it, he developed symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea and quadriplegia. The last three people who want to mend their bodies have all been admitted to the hospital.
As of press time, in the "Seeking Truth" column, the reporter searched for the keywords "yew" and "yew tea" through an online shopping platform, and still found yew products for sale, but also under the name of "anti-cancer". The column "Seeking Truth" reminds us not to believe the rumors on the Internet and among the people. Eating yew or using yew products has no anticancer effect and may cause poisoning symptoms. Please be vigilant. (Xiao Jinbo, Wang Yajing)