A Review on Radix Scutellariae: A Traditional Chinese Medicine with Great Medicinal Significant

Abstract

Radix Scutellariae (RS) refers to the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (SBG) plant. This plant belongs to family Lamiaceae. There are many common names of RS such as huang chin, huang lien, huang qin, huangqin, and wogon. SBG plant is spreading throughout many Asian countries such as China, Japan, North and South Korea, Mongolia and Russia. The aim of this review is to focus on the ingredients, medicinal uses, pharmacological activity, toxicology, adverse effects, precautions, and dosage of RS. RS contains baicalein, baicalin, wogonin, wogonoside, and oroxylin A ingredients. RS is used in the treatment of fever, nausea and vomiting, acute dysentery, jaundice, coughs, carbuncles and sores, and threatened abortion. RS is applied in the treatment of allergies, arteriosclerosis, diarrhea, dermatitis, and hypertension. Pharmacology activity of RS includes experimental pharmacology and clinical pharmacology. Experimental pharmacology contains hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-tumor, antiviral, central nervous system, enzyme inhibition, immunological, platelet aggregation inhibition, and smooth muscle activities. Injection of water extract of RS (12–15 g/kg, intragastrically) to dogs without any toxic effects and the oral intake of 4–5 g/kg of this extract to dogs three times/day for 8 weeks did not induce any toxic effects. There are no carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, and impairment of fertility, pregnancy, teratogenic effects or any other effects of RS. RS possesses many pharmacological activities and it is used to treat many diseases and without any toxic effect to any organs.