Process for obtaining 10-deacetylbaccatin III

A process for obtaining 10-deacetylbaccatin III from various parts of yew (Taxus sp.), comprising:

• 1) treating ground parts of yew with an aliphatic alcohol to obtain an alcoholic extract containing 10-deacetylbaccatin III,
• 2) diluting the alcoholic extract with water to obtain an hydroalcoholic solution containing 10 to 30% by weight of alcohol and insolubles, wherein the ratio of the weight of the hydroalcoholic solution to the insolubles is between 4 and 8,
• 3) separating off the insolubles present in the hydroalcoholic solution by filtration, sedimentation or centrifugation,
• 4) removing virtually all of the alcohol from the hydroalcoholic solution to obtain an aqueous phase,
• 5) extracting the 10-deacetylbaccatin III present in the aqueous phase with an organic solvent to obtain an organic extract,
• 6) removing the organic solvent from the organic extract to obtain a residue,
• 7) selectively crystallizing 10-deacetylbaccatin III from the residue, and purifying 10-deacetylbaccatin III.