Production, purification and characterization of taxol and 10DAB III from a new endophytic fungus Gliocladium sp. isolated from the Indian yew tree, Taxus baccata.

We have isolated endophytic fungi from Indian yew tree, Taxus baccata and then screened for taxol production. Out of the forty fungal cultures screened, one fungus Gliocladium sp. was found to produce taxol and 10DAB III (10 Deacetyl baccatin III). These compounds were purified by TLC, HPLC and characterized using UV-Spectroscopy, ESI-MS, MS/MS and proton NMR. One liter of Gliocladium sp. culture yielded 10 microg of taxol and 65 microg of 10 DAB III. The purified taxol from the fungus showed cytotoxicity towards cancer lines HL-60 (leukemia), A431 (epidermal carcinoma) and MCF-7 (breast cancer).