title: Scutellaria baicalensis, the golden herb from the garden of Chinese medicinal plants.
abstract: Scutellaria baicalensisGeorgi, 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 ofS. 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 inScutellaria.
authors.affiliation: Plant Science Research Center, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai, 201602 China ; Department of Metabolic Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH UK.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Plant Science Research Center, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai, 201602 China ; Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032 China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ya
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Metabolic Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH UK.
authors.forename: Cathie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martin
keywords: Anti-cancer; Flavonoids; Medicinal plants; Metabolic biology; Scutellaria baicalensis