Scutellaria lateriflora

Scutellaria lateriflora, known commonly as blue skullcap, mad dog skullcap,[1][2] and side-flowering skullcap, is a hardy perennial herb of the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to North America.

Scutellaria lateriflora

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Scutellaria
Species:
S. lateriflora
Binomial name
Scutellaria lateriflora

It has an upright habit, growing 60 to 80 centimeters in maximum height.[3][4] It is a wetland-loving species and grows near marshes, meadows, and other wet habitat. The blue flowers are just under a centimeter long.[3][4] 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.

Traditional uses and research

Scutellaria lateriflora contains flavonoids.[5] Other skullcaps used for similar purposes include common skullcap (S. galericulata), western skullcap (S. canescens), and southern skullcap (S. cordifolia). Its extracts are used in herbal medicine intended as a mild sedative and sleep promoter.[5] Cherokee women have used it as an emmenagogue.[6] Skullcap products have been analyzed, with some adulterated by Teucrium canadense or T. chamaedrys, also known as germander, which contains potentially hepatotoxic diterpenes.[5]

β-Elemene in the herb is under preliminary research in vitro,[7] but studies in humans have not confirmed any efficacy.[8] Diterpenes isolated from S. barbata had cytotoxic activity against three human cancer cell lines in vitro.[9]

Pharmacology
Illustration by Charles Frederick Millspaugh
Main article: Scutellaria § Constituents and pharmacology

The principal phenolics in the leaves, stems, and roots of some Scutellaria species are baicalin, baicalein, wogonin, and oroxylin A.[10][11] Baicalin has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects in a rat model of thermal hyperalgesia.[12][13] Another study identifies 5,6,7-trihydroxy-2'- methoxyflavone and its 7-O-glucuronide.[14] A number of the flavones found in S. lateriflora have been reported to selectively bind with high affinity to central benzodiazepine receptor sites, leading to the view that the flavones exert anxiolytic and other benzodiazepine effects in rats.[15]

The flavonoids are found throughout the plant but are more concentrated in the leaves, and the concentrations are found to decrease slightly as the plant matures. The dried leaf is reported to contain about 50 milligrams of flavonoid per gram. The flavonoids are readily extracted using hot water.[13]

Scutellarin is transformed by hydrolysis into scutellarein.

Composition
Essential oils
Chemical Concentration (mg/g)
alpha-cubebene 42
alpha-humulene 42
beta-elemene 92
calamenene 152
delta-cadinene 270
Other constituents
Chemical Concentration (mg/g)
carbohydrates 780
ascorbic acid 1
baicalin 10[16]
scutellarin
scutellarein
tannin 28-35
wax 12

See also

Other plants with sedative GABAergic properties

References
  1. Scutellaria lateriflora. NatureServe. 2012.
  2. mad dog, n. -compounds Oxford English Dictionary - mad dog because it was a supposed cure for hydrophobia
  3. Jepson Manual Treatment
  4. Washington Burke Museum
  5. Lin, L. Z.; Harnly, J. M.; Upton, R (2009). "Comparison of the Phenolic Component Profiles of Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) and Germander (Teucrium canadense and T. Chamaedrys), a Potentially Hepatotoxic Adulterant". Phytochemical Analysis. 20 (4): 298–306. doi:10.1002/pca.1127. PMC 3583524. PMID 19402188.
  6. Joshee N, Patrick TS, Mentreddy RS, Yadav AK. 2002. Skullcap: Potential medicinal crop. In: J Janick,A Whipkey (eds). In Trends in New Crops and New Uses. ASHS Press: Alexandria, VA; 580– 586.
  7. Li QQ, et al. (2010). "Antineoplastic effect of β-elemene on prostate cancer cells and other types of solid tumour cells". Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 62 (8): 1018–27. doi:10.1111/j.2042-7158.2010.01135.x. PMID 20663036. S2CID 12622379.
  8. Peng X, et al. (2006). "Assessing the quality of RCTs on the effect of β-elemene, one ingredient of a Chinese herb, against malignant tumors". Contemporary Clinical Trials. 27 (1): 70–82. doi:10.1016/j.cct.2005.07.002. PMID 16243588.
  9. Qu GW, et al. (2010). "Two new cytotoxic ent-clerodane diterpenoids from Scutellaria barbata". Journal of Asian Natural Products Research. 12 (10): 859–64. doi:10.1080/10286020.2010.507546. PMID 20924899. S2CID 25504133.
  10. Nishikawa K, et al. (1999). "Phenolics in tissue cultures of Scutellaria" (PDF). Natural Medicines. 53 (4): 209–13.
  11. Li J, Ding Y, Li XC, Ferreira D, Khan S, Smillie T, Khan IA (2009). "Scuteflorins A and B, dihydropyranocoumarins from Scutellaria lateriflora". J. Nat. Prod. 72 (6): 983–7. doi:10.1021/np900068t. PMID 19555121.
  12. Chou, Tz-Chong; Chang, Li-Ping; Li, Chi-Yuan; Wong, Chih-Shung; Yang, Shih-Ping (2003). "The Antiinflammatory and Analgesic Effects of Baicalin in Carrageenan-Evoked Thermal Hyperalgesia". Anesth Analg. 97 (6): 1724–1729. doi:10.1213/01.ane.0000087066.71572.3f. PMID 14633550. S2CID 24387980.
  13. Bergeron, Chantal; Gafner, Stefan; Clausen, Edgar; Carrier, Danielle J. (2005). "Scutellaria lateriflora Using Accelerated Solvent Extraction and Supercritical Fluid Extraction versus Standard Hot Water or 70% Ethanol Extraction". J. Agric. Food Chem. 53 (8): 3076–3080. doi:10.1021/jf048408t. PMID 15826062.
  14. Analysis of Scutellaria lateriflora and its adulterant Teucrium canadense by HPLC-UV and HPLC-UV/MS, Tom's of Maine, PO Box 710, Kennebunk, ME 04043. USA.
  15. Medina JH, et al. (1997). "Overview – Flavonoids: A new family of benzodiazepine receptor ligands". Neurochemical Research. 22 (4): 419–25. doi:10.1023/A:1027303609517. PMID 9130252. S2CID 22552052.
  16. P.H. and Horhammer, L., Hager's Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, Vols. 2-6, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1969-1979.
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