Which Chinese tree is the source of camptothecin, a compound that led to anticancer drugs? The Happy tree, Camptotheca acuminata, is the Chinese tree associated with natural camptothecin.
Camptotheca acuminata is a deciduous tree native to southern China and Tibet. Its Chinese name, xi shu, translates as “happy tree,” giving rise to the English common name. The bark and stems contain camptothecin, a plant alkaloid that inhibits topoisomerase I, an enzyme cancer cells need when copying and managing DNA.
Chemists M. E. Wall and M. C. Wani discovered camptothecin during systematic screening of natural products in 1966. The original compound showed powerful anticancer activity, but its poor water solubility and toxic effects limited direct clinical use. Researchers subsequently developed more practical derivatives.
Those derivatives include irinotecan and topotecan, important anticancer drugs, as well as other compounds investigated or used in oncology. “Happy tree” can be confused with a general poetic name for any attractive Chinese tree, but here it specifically refers to Camptotheca. The related “cancer tree” and “tree of life” are also recorded common names.