Taxol, a novel diterpenoid containing a taxane ring to exhibit significant activity against various leukemias and solid tumors, occurs as a very minor component in several species of Taxus. It was first isolated from the bark of the slow-growing yew tree, Taxus brevifolia, in 1971. The scarcity of taxol and the ecological impact of harvesting it have prompted extensive searches for alternative sources including semi-synthesis from baccatin III, total synthesis, cell culture production, but these methods are not only inefficient to produce taxol but also need to purify taxoid from solvents or biomass sources. The supercritical fluid extraction is a nondestructive method for isolating valuable constituents from natural materials. In this study, the extraction of taxol and baccatin III from the ground needles of Taxus cuspidata were carried out by using supercritical carbon dioxide with and without cosolvents such as ethyl acetate, methanol, ethanol, ether, acetonitrile, methylene chloride and tri-n-butyl phosphate at 40℃ and 300 bar. Taxol and baccatin III contents in the extracts were determined by HPLC. The highest yields of taxol and baccatin III could be obtained by the supercritical extraction with 3 wt% methanol and ethyl acetate, respectively, as cosolvents. It was also found that the selectivities of taxol and baccatin III were 0.117 and 1.245 wt \%. respectively, with 0.7 wt \% ethyl acetate. which it was demonstrated that the selectivities of taxol and baccatin III were increased about 5 and 52 times than those of conventional organic solvent extraction.
