Potential chronic liver toxicity in rats orally administered an ethanol extract of Huangqin (Radix Scutellariae Baicalensis)

Phytochemical Profiling and Bio-Potentiality of Genus Scutellaria: Biomedical Approach

Scutellaria (Lamiaceae) comprises over 360 species. Based on its morphological structure of calyx, also known as Skullcap, it is herbaceous by habit and cosmopolitan by habitat. The species of Scutellaria are widely used in local communities as a natural remedy. The genus contributed over three hundred bioactive compounds mainly represented by flavonoids and phenols, chemical ingredients which serve as potential candidates for the therapy of various biological activities. Thus, the current review is an attempt to highlight the biological significance and its correlation to various isolated bioactive ingredients including flavonoids, terpenoids, phenols, alkaloids, and steroids. However, flavonoids were the dominant group observed. The findings of the Scutellaria reveal that due to its affluent basis of numerous chemical ingredients it has a diverse range of pharmacological potentials, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifeedant, enzyme inhibition, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic significance. Currently, various bioactive ingredients have been investigated for various biological activities from the genus Scutellaria in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, these data help us to highlight its biomedical application and to isolate the responsible compounds to produce innovative medications as an alternative to synthetic drugs.

Probing the polyphenolic flavonoid, morin as a highly efficacious inhibitor against amyloid(A4V) mutant SOD1 in fatal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Deposition of misfolded protein aggregates in key areas of human brain is the quintessential trait of various pertinent neurodegenerative disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Genetic point mutations in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) are found to be the most important contributing factor behind familial ALS. Especially, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) A4V is the most nocuous since it substantially decreases life expectancy of patients. Besides, the use of naturally occurring polyphenolic flavonoids is profoundly being advocated for palliating amyloidogenic behavior of proteopathic proteins. In the present analysis, through proficient computational tools, we have attempted to ascertain a pharmacodynamically promising flavonoid compound that effectively curbs the pathogenic behavior of A4V SOD1 mutant. Initial screening of flavonoids that exhibit potency against amyloids identified morin, myricetin and epigallocatechin gallate as promising leads. Further, with the help of feasible and yet adept protein-ligand interaction studies and stalwart molecular simulation analyses, we were able to observe that aforementioned flavonoids were able to considerably divert mutant A4V SOD1 from its distinct pathogenic behavior. Among which, morin showed the most curative potential against A4V SOD1. Therefore, morin holds a great therapeutic potential in contriving highly efficacious inhibitors in mitigating fatal and insuperable ALS.

Therapeutic potential of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi in lung cancer therapy

BACKGROUND

Globally, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer associated mortalities. The current conventional chemotherapy remains the preferred treatment option for lung cancer, as surgical resection plays little role in the treatment of over 75% of lung cancer patients. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel potential therapeutic drugs or adjuvants with a high efficiency and safety against lung cancer. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, a common Chinese medicinal herb that has been in use for more than 2000 years, has recently been shown to possess significant activities against lung cancer. However, current research progress on pharmacological effects and relevant molecular mechanisms of S. baicalensis in lung cancer therapy have not been systematically summarized.

PURPOSE

This review aimed at elucidating on the anti-lung cancer mechanisms and antitumor efficacies of S. baicalensis as well as its active ingredients, and providing a valuable reference for further investigation in this field.

METHODS

We used "Scutellaria baicalensis" or the name of the compound in S. baicalensis, in combination with "lung cancer" as key words to systematically search for relevant literature from the Web of Science and PubMed databases. Publications that investigated molecular mechanisms were the only ones selected for analysis. The PRISMA guidelines were followed.

RESULTS

Fifty-four publications met the inclusion criteria for this study. Five anti-lung cancer mechanisms of S. baicalensis and its constituent components are discussed. These mechanisms include apoptosis induction, cell-cycle arrest, suppression of proliferation, blockade of invasion and metastasis, and overcoming drug-resistance. These compounds exhibited high antitumor efficacies and safety against lung cancer xenografts.

CONCLUSION

Studies should aim at elucidating on the anti-cancer mechanisms of S. baicalensis to achieve the ultimate goal of lung cancer therapy.

The Potential Application of Chinese Medicine in Liver Diseases: A New Opportunity

Liver diseases have been a common challenge for people all over the world, which threatens the quality of life and safety of hundreds of millions of patients. China is a major country with liver diseases. Metabolic associated fatty liver disease, hepatitis B virus and alcoholic liver disease are the three most common liver diseases in our country, and the number of patients with liver cancer is increasing. Therefore, finding effective drugs to treat liver disease has become an urgent task. Chinese medicine (CM) has the advantages of low cost, high safety, and various biological activities, which is an important factor for the prevention and treatment of liver diseases. This review systematically summarizes the potential of CM in the treatment of liver diseases, showing that CM can alleviate liver diseases by regulating lipid metabolism, bile acid metabolism, immune function, and gut microbiota, as well as exerting anti-liver injury, anti-oxidation, and anti-hepatitis virus effects. Among them, Keap1/Nrf2, TGF-β/SMADS, p38 MAPK, NF-κB/IκBα, NF-κB-NLRP3, PI3K/Akt, TLR4-MyD88-NF-κB and IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathways are mainly involved. In conclusion, CM is very likely to be a potential candidate for liver disease treatment based on modern phytochemistry, pharmacology, and genomeproteomics, which needs more clinical trials to further clarify its importance in the treatment of liver diseases.

A review: antimicrobial properties of several medicinal plants widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Due to the dramatic increase in the use of antibiotics and growing health threat of bacterial resistance to many commonly used antibiotics, many studies have been directed at developing new and effective antibacterial compounds, among which many new, natural, and effective antibacterial compounds discovered from medicinal plants have drawn great interest and raised new hope for treating the challenges of antibiotic resistance. This review aimed to summarize the most important and widely used medicinal plants that were reported to have antibacterial activities. A general literature search from 2010 to 2020 was conducted using different databases, including Science Direct, Web of Science, and PubMed. According to the literature, three medicinal plants with outstanding antibacterial activities, Taraxacum officinale, Coptis Rhizome, and Scutellaria baicalensis, were screened and reviewed by prioritization. The extraction methods, antibacterial activities of different parts of plants or the plant-derived compounds, spectra of antibacterial activities, and toxicity were described, respectively. However, the antibacterial activities of the extracts or pure compounds as reported in the reviewed literature were mostly based on in vitro assays, and moreover, the deeper antibacterial mechanisms have not been elucidated clearly. Therefore, further studies are required in the fields of purification and identification of the antibacterial compounds, its mechanisms of action, and synergistic effects in combination with other antibacterial drugs, which may be helpful in the development of new antibacterial drugs.

Potential Antidepressant Effects of Scutellaria baicalensis, Hericium erinaceus and Rhodiola rosea

Recent studies focused on the pharmacology and feasibility of herbal compounds as a potential strategy to target a variety of human diseases ranging from metabolic to brain disorders. Accordingly, bioactive ingredients which are found within a variety of herbal compounds are reported to produce both neuroprotective and psychotropic activities which may help to combat mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances and cognitive alterations. In the present manuscript, we focus on three herbs which appear effective in mitigating anxiety or depression with favourable risk-benefit profiles, namely Scutellaria baicalensis (S. baicalensis), Hericium erinaceus (H. erinaceus) and Rhodiola rosea (R. rosea). These three traditional folk medicinal herbs target the main biochemical events that are implicated in mental disorders, mimicking, to some extent, the mechanisms of action of conventional antidepressants and mood stabilizers with a wide margin of tolerability. In detail, they rescue alterations in neurotransmitter and neuro-endocrine systems, stimulate neurogenesis and the synthesis of neurotrophic factors, and they counteract oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation. Albeit the encouraging results that emerge from both experimental and clinical evidence, further studies are needed to confirm and better understand the mental-health promoting, and specifically, the antidepressant effects of these herbs.

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. (Lamiaceae): a review of its traditional uses, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology

OBJECTIVES

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. (Lamiaceae) is a plant of the genus Lamiaceae, and its root is the main part used as a medicine. In China, Scutellaria baicalensis is still an important traditional Chinese medicine with the functions of clearing away heat and dampness, purging fire and detoxification. This medicinal plant is widely distributed in China, Russia, Mongolia, North Korea and Japan. The purpose of this paper was to provide a systematic and comprehensive overview on the traditional usages, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and toxicology of this plant. Furthermore, the possible development trends and perspectives for future research on this medicinal plant are also discussed.

KEY FINDINGS

So far, over 40 compounds have been isolated and identified from Scutellaria baicalensis, including flavonoids, terpenoids, volatile oils and polysaccharides. The compounds and extracts isolated from Scutellaria baicalensis exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities, including the effects on the nervous system, effects on the immune system, liver protection, antitumour effects, antibacterial and antiviral effects, antioxidant effects and other pharmacological effects.

SUMMARY

As a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Scutellaria baicalensis has shown significant effects on the treatment of various diseases, especially hepatitis, diarrhoea, vomiting and high blood pressure. Numerous traditional uses of Scutellaria baicalensis have been confirmed by current investigations. However, it is also necessary to further study the drug-forming properties and pharmacokinetics of the active constituents of Scutellaria baicalensis, as well as to establish quality control standards for different areas of Scutellaria baicalensis, and to carry out the research at the cellular and molecular levels.