Aspirin, for example, was originally derived from willow bark, and the anticancer drug Taxol comes from the bark of the Pacific yew tree.

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One-third of drugs on the market originate in nature, such as cancer drug Taxol, derived from the bark and needles of the yew tree.

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The active ingredient is taken from a type of yew tree.

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The drug is Taxol, Bristol's brand name for paclitaxel, a trace compound found in the bark of the Pacific yew tree in the northwestern U.S. During the 1970s researchers for the U.S. government's National Cancer Institute discovered that paclitaxel stops the growth of some cancerous tumors.

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