Pet Safety / Compounds / Taxine B (Taxus alkaloids)

Is Taxine B (Taxus alkaloids) safe for dogs and cats?

Extreme risk for pets

Taxus species (yew) represent one of the most dangerous ornamental plants for dogs. Dogs are highly susceptible to taxine cardiotoxicity, and yew ingestion — from chewing on twigs and needles of garden Taxus shrubs — is a veterinary emergency associated with rapid-onset, often fatal cardiac arrhythmias. ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center ranks yew among the top 10 most toxic plants for dogs. Clinical signs develop within 1–3 hours of ingestion: sudden weakness, ataxia, bradycardia, pale mucous membranes, and cardiac collapse. Dogs may be found dead without premonitory signs. The lethal dose for dogs is estimated at 2–5 mg/kg taxine alkaloids; a few grams of needles can be lethal for a medium-sized dog. Treatment requires intensive cardiac monitoring, atropine, antiarrhythmics, and may require temporary pacing; survival rates are low once cardiac arrhythmias develop. Prompt emesis induction before symptom onset is the most effective intervention.

What is taxine b (taxus alkaloids)?

The IUPAC name is 9-chloro-5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine-7,8-diol.

Also known as: 9-chloro-5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine-7,8-diol, fenoldopam, Fenoldopamum, Carlacor.

IUPAC name
9-chloro-5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine-7,8-diol
CAS number
67227-56-9
Molecular formula
C16H16ClNO3
Molecular weight
305.75 g/mol
SMILES
C1CNCC(C2=CC(=C(C(=C21)Cl)O)O)C3=CC=C(C=C3)O
PubChem CID
3341

Risk for dogs

Extreme risk

Taxus species (yew) represent one of the most dangerous ornamental plants for dogs. Dogs are highly susceptible to taxine cardiotoxicity, and yew ingestion — from chewing on twigs and needles of garden Taxus shrubs — is a veterinary emergency associated with rapid-onset, often fatal cardiac arrhythmias. ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center ranks yew among the top 10 most toxic plants for dogs. Clinical signs develop within 1–3 hours of ingestion: sudden weakness, ataxia, bradycardia, pale mucous membranes, and cardiac collapse. Dogs may be found dead without premonitory signs. The lethal dose for dogs is estimated at 2–5 mg/kg taxine alkaloids; a few grams of needles can be lethal for a medium-sized dog. Treatment requires intensive cardiac monitoring, atropine, antiarrhythmics, and may require temporary pacing; survival rates are low once cardiac arrhythmias develop. Prompt emesis induction before symptom onset is the most effective intervention.

Risk for cats

Extreme risk

Cats are equally susceptible to taxine cardiotoxicity as dogs, with the same mechanism of cardiac calcium/sodium channel blockade and resulting fatal arrhythmias. While cats are less likely to chew on yew shrubs than dogs, garden Taxus exposure and indoor use of yew in holiday decorations create real risks. ASPCA lists yew (Taxus spp.) as toxic to cats with potential for cardiac failure and death. The clinical course and treatment principles are identical to those in dogs. Cats that survive acute taxine toxicosis may develop prolonged QT interval and require cardiac monitoring. Given the extreme rapidity of cardiac collapse in severe cases, prognosis for cats ingesting significant quantities of yew is guarded to poor even with prompt treatment.

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Taxine B (Taxus alkaloids).

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
Unknown——

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where pets encounter taxine b (taxus alkaloids)

  • Industrial Facilities — Manufacturing plants, Chemical storage areas, Waste treatment sites
  • Occupational Environments — Factories, Warehouses, Transportation vehicles

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Taxine B (Taxus alkaloids):

  • Avoidance (no chemical substitute)
    Trade-offs: Direct chemical substitution requires verification that the replacement does not introduce new hazards (regrettable substitution). Conduct full hazard assessment of proposed alternative before adoption.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

Is taxine b (taxus alkaloids) safe for pets?

Taxus species (yew) represent one of the most dangerous ornamental plants for dogs. Dogs are highly susceptible to taxine cardiotoxicity, and yew ingestion — from chewing on twigs and needles of garden Taxus shrubs — is a veterinary emergency associated with rapid-onset, often fatal cardiac arrhythmias. ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center ranks yew among the top 10 most toxic plants for dogs. Clinical signs develop within 1–3 hours of ingestion: sudden weakness, ataxia, bradycardia, pale mucous membranes, and cardiac collapse. Dogs may be found dead without premonitory signs. The lethal dose for dogs is estimated at 2–5 mg/kg taxine alkaloids; a few grams of needles can be lethal for a medium-sized dog. Treatment requires intensive cardiac monitoring, atropine, antiarrhythmics, and may require temporary pacing; survival rates are low once cardiac arrhythmias develop. Prompt emesis induction before symptom onset is the most effective intervention.

What products contain taxine b (taxus alkaloids)?

Taxine B (Taxus alkaloids) appears in: Manufacturing plants (Industrial facilities); Chemical storage areas (Industrial facilities); Factories (Occupational environments); Warehouses (Occupational environments).

See Taxine B (Taxus alkaloids) in the pets app

Look up products containing taxine b (taxus alkaloids), compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

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Sources (2)
  1. ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: Yew (Taxus spp.) — Taxine Alkaloid Cardiotoxicity in Dogs and Cats, Emergency Management, and Fatality Reports (2019) — veterinary
  2. Knight AP: Yew (Taxus spp.) Poisoning in Horses and Other Livestock — Taxine Alkaloid Mechanism and Epidemiology (Veterinary Medicine 1995) (1995) — scientific

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →