Scutellaria
| Scutellaria | |
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| Flowers of S. alpina | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Subfamily: | Scutellarioideae |
| Genus: | Scutellaria L.[1] |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Anaspis Rech.f. |
Scutellaria is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It contains about 300 species, which are commonly known as skullcaps.[2] The generic name is derived from the Latin word scutella, meaning "a small dish," referring to the shape of the calyx.[3]
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[edit] Description
The genus is widespread in temperate regions and on tropical mountains.
Most are annual or perennial herbaceous plants from 5 to 100 cm (2.0 to 39 in) tall, but a few are subshrubs; some are aquatic. They have four-angled stems and opposite leaves. The flowers have upper and lower lips. The genus is most easily recognized by the typical shield on the calyx that has also prompted its common name.
[edit] Medicinal Use
Scutellaria root (Huang Qin, Radix Scutellaria Baicalenses) has a long history of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine to support the immune system. [4] [5] In related research, Baicalein, a major flavonoid in Scutellaria was shown to support cardiovascular health. [6] Research shows that Scutellaria root modulates inflammatory activity to inhibit nitric oxide (NO), cytokine, chemokine and growth factor production in macrophages. [7] Scutellaria has also been shown to inhibit histamine and leukotriene release.[8]
[edit] Selected species
[edit] See also
- Chinese herbology 50 fundamental herbs
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Scutellaria |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Scutellaria |
- ^ a b "Genus: Scutellaria L.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2006-11-03. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?11003. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ a b "Scutellaria". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=32764. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ Austin, Daniel F. (2004). Florida Ethnobotany. CRC Press. p. 616. ISBN 9780849323324. http://books.google.com/books?id=eS7lX_rC3GEC&.
- ^ Yang ZC, Wang BC, Yang XS, Wang Q, Ran L. The synergistic activity with eight traditional Chinese medicines, Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces, 2005 Mar 25;41(2-3):79-81. Pubmed ID: 15737531.
- ^ Ma SC, Du J, But PP, Deng XL, Zhang YW, Ooi VE, XU HX, Lee SH, Lee SF. Chinese medicinal herbs, J Ethnopharmacol 2002 Feb, Pubmed ID: 11801383.
- ^ Huang Y, Tsang SY, Yao X, Chen ZY. Biological properties of baicalein in cardiovascular system, Curr Drug Targets Cardiovasc Haematol Disord, 2005 Apr;5(2):177-84. Pubmed ID: 15853750.
- ^ Kim EH, Shim B, Kang S, Jeong G, Lee JS, Chun M., Inflammatory Modulating Effects of Scutellaria baicalensis extract via Suppression of Immune Modulators and MAP kinase signaling molecules, J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Aug 20. Pubmed ID: 19699788.
- ^ Lim BO., Effects of wogonin, wogonoside, and 3,5,7,2',6'-pentahydroxyflavone on chemical mediator production in peritoneal exudate cells and immunoglobulin E of rat mesenteric lymph node lymphocytes, J Ethnopharmacol, 2003 Jan;84(1):23-9. Pubmed ID: 12499072.
- ^ "GRIN Species Records of Scutellaria". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?11003. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
[edit] External links
- "Scutellaria L. skullcap". The PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SCUTE.
- Scutellaria images on MorphBank, a biological image database
- Pictures of Skullcap as a medicine
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