''Scutellaria lateriflora'', (commonly "blue skullcap", "mad dog skullcap",''Scutellaria lateriflora''. NatureServe. 2012., "American skullcap", "side-flowering skullcap", etc.) is a hardy
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...
herb of the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to North America.
It has an upright
habit
A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.
marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
es, meadows, and another wet habitat. The blue flowers are just under long. Most of the flowers do not appear at the top of the main stem but are produced along the length of side branches that grow from the leaf axils.
Other skullcaps (''
Scutellaria
''Scutellaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. They are known commonly as skullcaps. The generic name is derived from the Latin ''scutella'', meaning "a small dish, tray or platter",
The principal phytochemicals are
polyphenol
Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some o ...
s in the leaves, stems, and roots of some ''Scutellaria'' species, including
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 ...
,
baicalein
Baicalein (5,6,7-trihydroxyflavone) is a flavone, a type of flavonoid, originally isolated from the roots of '' Scutellaria baicalensis'' and '' Scutellaria lateriflora''. It is also reported in '' Oroxylum indicum'' (Indian trumpetflower) and '' ...
, wogonin, and oroxylin A. Other constituents include lateriflorin, melatonin, serotonin, viscidulin III-2’-O-glucoside, Chyrin-6-C-ara-glc, trans-verbascoside, viscidulin, trans-martynoside, oroxylin A-7-O-glc, wogonoside, chitin, and scutellarin. ''Scutellaria lateriflora'' contains flavonoids.
One study identified 5,6,7-trihydroxy-2'- methoxyflavone and its 7-''O''-glucuronide. Scutellarin is a flavone found in ''S. lateriflora'' and ''S. barbata''. It is transformed by hydrolysis into scutellarein.
Genkwanin
Genkwanin is an O-methylated flavone, a type of flavonoid. It can be found in the seeds of ''Alnus glutinosa'', and the leaves of the ferns '' Notholaena bryopoda'' and '' Asplenium normale'' and ''Aquilaria
''Aquilaria'' is a genus of fifteen ...
,
hesperetin
Hesperetin is the 4'-methoxy derivative of eriodictyol, a flavanone. Hesperetin's 7-O-glycoside, hesperidin, is a naturally occurring flavanon-glycoside, the main flavonoid in lemons and sweet oranges. Hesperetin (and naringenin, the parent flav ...
,
quercetin
Quercetin is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It is found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, and grains; capers, red onions, and kale are common foods containing appreciable amounts of it. It has a bitter flavor ...
,
rutin
Rutin, also called rutoside, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside and sophorin, is the glycoside combining the flavonol quercetin and the disaccharide rutinose (α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranose). It is a flavonoid found in a wide variety of pl ...
,
naringenin
Naringenin is a flavorless, colorless flavanone, a type of flavonoid. It is the predominant flavanone in grapefruit, and is found in a variety of fruits and herbs.
Structure
Naringenin has the skeleton structure of a flavanone with three hydro ...
daidzein
Daidzein (7-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4H-chromen-4-one) is a naturally occurring compound found exclusively in soybeans and other legumes and structurally belongs to a class of compounds known as isoflavones. Daidzein and other isoflavones ar ...
are the flavonoids found in ''S. lateriflora.'' The flavonoids are readily extracted using hot water.
The oil from ''S. lateriflora'' contains τ-
cadinene
Cadinenes are a group of isomeric hydrocarbons that occur in a wide variety of essential oil-producing plants. The name is derived from that of the Cade juniper (''Juniperus oxycedrus'' L.), the wood of which yields an oil from which cadinene is ...
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
women have used it as an
emmenagogue Emmenagogues (also spelled ''emmenagogs'') are herbs which stimulate blood flow in the pelvic area and uterus
The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, in ...
. In 1773, ''Scutellaria lateriflora'' became a common treatment in North America for the hysteria and hydrophobia caused by
rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, ...
.''Scutellaria lateriflora''. Southern Cross Plant Science. Southern Cross University.
Skullcap products have been analyzed, with some adulterated by '' Teucrium canadense'' or ''T. chamaedrys'', also known as
germander
''Teucrium'' is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae, commonly known as germanders. Plants in this genus are perennial herbs or shrubs, with branches that are more or less square in cross-section, leaves arranged in op ...
, which contains potentially
hepatotoxic
Hepatotoxicity (from ''hepatic toxicity'') implies chemical-driven liver damage. Drug-induced liver injury is a cause of acute and chronic liver disease caused specifically by medications and the most common reason for a drug to be withdrawn fro ...
diterpene
Diterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of four isoprene units, often with the molecular formula C20H32. They are biosynthesized by plants, animals and fungi via the HMG-CoA reductase pathway, with geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate being ...
Piper methysticum
Kava or kava kava ('' Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ''ʻawa'' (Hawaiʻi) ...
Melissa officinalis
Lemon balm (''Melissa officinalis'') is a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family and native to south-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, and Central Asia, but now naturalised elsewhere.
It grows to a maximum height of . The ...
'' (lemon balm)
* ''
Eschscholzia californica
''Eschscholzia californica'', the California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant ...
'' (
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...