10-DAB (also known as 10-Deacetylbaccatin) is an intermediate used for the preparation of taxol, an anti-leukemic and tumor-inhibiting agent isolated from the inner bark of the Pacific yew tree Taxus brevifolia as well as other species of the genus Taxus. Due to the low availability of taxol from its natural sources, 10-DAB is used as a raw material for the preparation of taxol and its derivatives. Being easily extracted from the annual cute of the yew leaves, 10-DAB has a very folded chemical structure with the α hydroxyl group hindered at C-13 easily to form a hydrogen bond with the 4α acetyl group.
Reference
[1].F. Gueritte-Voegelein, V. Senilh, B. David, D. Guenard and P. Potier. Chemical studies of 10-deacetyl baccatin III hemisynthesis of taxol derivatives. Tetrahedron 1986; 42(16): 4451-4460