A taxine, 5 alphaO-(3 ' -dimethylamino-3 ' -phenylpropionyl) taxinine M (1) together with two known compounds 7-O-acetyltaxine A (2) and 2 alpha -acetoxy-2 ' beta -deacetylaustrospicatine (3) were isolated from the needles of the Himalayan yew, Taxus wallichiana Zucc. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of the NMR spectral data, ESI-MS/MS analysis and chemical methods. Compounds 1 and 3 showed moderate Cytotoxic activity against the lung cancer cell line A549 in vitro. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.