Scutellaria baicalensis, the golden herb from the garden of Chinese medicinal plants

Abstract

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, or Chinese skullcap, has been widely used as a medicinal plant in China for thousands of years, where the preparation from its roots is called Huang-Qin. It has been applied in the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery, hypertension, hemorrhaging, insomnia, inflammation and respiratory infections. Flavones such as baicalin, wogonoside and their aglycones baicalein wogonin are the major bioactive compounds extracted from the root of S. baicalensis. These flavones have been reported to have various pharmacological functions, including anti-cancer, hepatoprotection, antibacterial and antiviral, antioxidant, anticonvulsant and neuroprotective effects. In this review, we focus on clinical applications and the pharmacological properties of the medicinal plant and the flavones extracted from it. We also describe biotechnological and metabolic methods that have been used to elucidate the biosynthetic pathways of the bioactive compounds in Scutellaria.

Keywords: Anti-cancer; Flavonoids; Medicinal plants; Metabolic biology; Scutellaria baicalensis.

Fig. 1

(Color online) The medicinal plant Scutellaria baicalensis, known as Huang-Qin. a Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi plant. b The dried root of S. baicalensis used in traditional Chinese medicine. c A hand-drawn figure of S. baicalensis in Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica) by Li Shizhen

Fig. 2

(Color online) Production of hairy root cultures of Scutellaria baicalensis. a Hairy roots induced by infection of a cotyledonary explant of S. baicalensis by Agrobacterium rhizogenes. b Liquid culture of Scutellaria hairy roots

Fig. 3

(Color online) Major flavones in Scutellaria baicalensis. a Flavones produced from naringenin. b Root-specific 4′-deoxyflavones, originating from pinocembrin

Fig. 4

(Color online) The proposed biosynthetic pathway for production of root-specific flavones of Scutellaria