ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To reveal the influence of harvest season and tree age on the content of taxol and 10-DAB III, and provide the basis for the harvest time of Taxus madia.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Branches and leaves of the labeled 25 three-year-old plants and 25 five-year-old plants were collected every two months from March 26,2009 to January 26, 2010. Taxol and 10-DAB III content of different age and growth season of Taxus in branches were determined by HPLC.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Taxol and 10-DAB III content were significantly different in different harvesting age. The content of five-year-old plants was significantly higher than that of three-year-old plants. Taxol and 10-DAB III contents were significantly different in different harvesting season, and the highest content of taxol and 10-DAB III was 0.56, 0.32 mg x g(-1), respectively, in May.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The May is the suitable harvest season for T. madia, but the suitable harvest age need further study which according to the main active component and biomass accumulation.</p>