Catuvolcus

Catuvolcus - death by yew

WHO WAS CATUVOLCUS?

• Catuvolcus was king of half of the country of the Eburones
• Eburones was ruled by another king called Ambiorix

• In 54 BC there was a poor harvest, and Caesar, whose practice was to commandeer a part of the food supply from the local tribes, was forced to split his legions up among a larger number of tribes. To the Eburones he sent Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta with the command of a recently levied 14th Legion from north of the Po and a detachment of five cohorts, a total strength of 9,000 men.
• This angered the Gauls who then revolted against the Romans.

who was catuvolcus?

Julius Caesar in the next year proceeded to devastate the territories of the Eburones, Cativolcus, who was advanced in age and unable to endure the labours of war and flight, poisoned himself with a yew, after invoking curses upon Ambiorix.

How does yew kill you?

Yew leaves contain taxane

- Taxane is a mitotic inhibitor, i.e., inhibts mitosis or cell division through disruption of the microtubule function. - When one absorbs the poisonous part of the yew the poison paclitaxel is absorbed into the bloodstream and distributed to every tissue in the body. - Paclitaxel works by inhibiting mitosis, specifically it interferes withe the normal breakdown of the microtubles that regulate the process. - Paclitaxel begins to impact the microtubules function between metaphase and anaphase of mitosis. The microtubules must be able to shorten in order to pull sister chromatids apart. Paclitaxel prevents this from happening. - Since it is now unable to complete all phases of mitosis, it receives a signal to undergo programmed cell death.

MORE ABOUT YEW

Symptoms of yew poisoning

INTERESTING FACTS

- The lethal dose for an adult is reported to be 50 g of yew needles.- Known as the “tree of death,” dedicated to the gods of death -All the parts of a yew, excepting the berries, are poisonous to humans. - Despite its toxic reputation, a chemical found in yew – taxol – has been found to have anti-cancer effects. These chemicals have since been synthesised and are now being used in the treatment of breast, ovarian and lung cancers. - Yews can live for upwards of 3000 years.