''Scutellaria baicalensis'', with the common name Baikal skullcap or Chinese skullcap, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

Distribution

The plant is native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Korea, Mongolia, and Russia in the Russian Far East and Siberia.

Medicinal plant

Traditional Chinese medicine

It is one of the

50 fundamental herbs Chinese herbology () is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A ''Nature'' editorial described TCM as "fraught with pseudoscience", and said that t ...

used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it has the name ''huángqín'' (). As a Chinese traditional medicine, ''huang qin'' usually refers to the dried root of ''S. baicalensis'' Georgi, ''S. viscidula'' Bge., ''S. amoena'' C.H. Wright, and ''S. ikoninkovii'' Ju. Its use in TCM is for "the prophylaxis and treatment of hepatitis, atherosclerosis,

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes, dysentery, ulcerative colitis, and respiratory disorders."

Pharmacology

Several chemical compounds have been isolated from the root; baicalein,

baicalin As baicalin is a flavone glycoside, it is a flavonoid. It is the glucuronide of baicalein. Natural occurrences Baicalin is found in several species in the genus ''Scutellaria'', including ''Scutellaria baicalensis'', and '' Scutellaria lateri ...

wogonin Wogonin is an O-methylated flavone, a flavonoid-like chemical compound which is found in ''Scutellaria baicalensis''. The glycosides of wogonin are known as wogonosides. For example, oroxindin is a wogonin glucuronide isolated from '' Oroxylum ...

norwogonin Norwogonin, also known as 5,7,8-trihydroxyflavone (5,7,8-THF), is a flavone, a naturally occurring flavonoid-like chemical compound which is found in ''Scutellaria baicalensis'' (Baikal skullcap). It has been found to act as an agonist of the Trk ...

oroxylin A Oroxylin A is an O-methylated flavone, a chemical compound that can be found in the medicinal plants ''Scutellaria baicalensis'' and ''Scutellaria lateriflora'', and the ''Oroxylum indicum'' tree. It has demonstrated activity as a dopamine reuptak ...

and β-sitosterol are the major ones.

Names

It is important to use the Latin name, as the term 'skullcap' is used for over 200 varieties. Sometimes, ''

Scutellaria lateriflora ''Scutellaria lateriflora'', (commonly "blue skullcap", "mad dog skullcap",liver injury A liver injury, also known as liver laceration, is some form of trauma sustained to the liver. This can occur through either a blunt force such as a car accident, or a penetrating foreign object such as a knife. Liver injuries constitute 5% of a ...

with

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving abnormal heme meta ...

arising 1 to 3 months after starting herbal or dietary supplements containing ''S. baicalensis''.

References

External links

''Scutellaria baicalensis'' List of Chemicals (Dr. Duke's Databases)''Scutellaria baicalensis'' (Plants for a Future)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q803769 baicalensis Flora of China Flora of Korea Flora of Mongolia Flora of the Russian Far East Flora of Siberia Medicinal plants of Asia Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine Anxiolytics Dopamine reuptake inhibitors GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators