Abstract: Accumulation distribution of paclitaxel in entire plant of Taxus chinensis var. mairei was investigated. The content of paclitaxel in organs and tissues of T.chinensis var mairei that was wild or cultivatied about 20 years old was analyzed by HPLC. The results show that the paclitaxel in the plant is downward and has rhizosphere accumulation significantly. At the organ level, the contents of paclitaxel from branch leaves to fibrous root are 0.007 61 %-0.100 54 % (dry weight, wild) and 0.015 25 %-0.061 75 % (dry weight, cultivation) respectively. In the tissue level, the contents of paclitaxel in xylem tissue from morpholo-gical upper part to root are 0.010 95 %-0.044 76 % (dry weight, wild) and 0-0.017 58 % (dry weight, cultivation). The accumulation of paclitaxel in skin tissue increase from morphological upper part to lower part. The contents of paclitaxel in main branch bark are 0.013 32 % (dry weight, wild) and 0.006 77 % (dry weight, cultivation), and in root bark are 0.08633% (dry weight, wild) and 0.059 74 % (dry weight, cultivation) respectively. The output of paclitaxel in wild taxus chinensis is higher than that in cultured taxus chinensis. The distribution of paclitaxel was linear at its contents 21-105 mg/L (r²=0.999).The average recovery was 85.78%,and the RSD was 1.03%.

Key words: Taxus chinensis var mairei, paclitaxel, distribution, HPLC