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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » Natural Products Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #235550
Title: Investigating Two Medicinal Scutellaria Species of Himalayan Origin

Author
item JOSHEE, NIRMAL - FORT VALLEY STATE UNIV.
item Rimando, Agnes
item PARAJULI, PRAHLAD - KARMANOS CANCER RES. INST
item RAWAT, GOPAL - WILDLIFE INST. OF INDIA
item YADAV, ANAND - FORT VALLEY STATE UNIV.

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2008
Publication Date: 1/5/2009
Citation: Joshee, N., Rimando, A.M., Parajuli, P., Rawat, G.S., Yadav, A.K. 2009. Investigating Two Medicinal Scutellaria Species of Himalayan Origin. In Advances in Agriculture, Environment and Health: Fruits, Vegetables, Animals and Biomedical Research. Singh, S.B.; Chaurasia, O.P.; Yadav, A.; Rimando, A.M.; Terrill, T.H. (Eds.), Satish Serial Publishing House, Delhi, India. PP. 347-356.

Interpretive Summary: An on-going collaborative research is focused on investigating the anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties of flavonoids from Scutellaria species. There is very little scientific evidence on the anticancer activity of Scutellaria species, and reports available are mostly from studies of the root extracts of two species, Scutellaria baicalensis and S. barbata. Leaf and stem extracts of Scutellaria, although known to be substantially rich in flavonoid content and other bioactive ingredients, have rarely been studied for their potential biomedical activities. We therefore investigated leaf, stem, and root extracts and among those examined, the leaf extracts of two Himalayan species, S. angulosa and S. scandens, showed consistent, dose-dependent anticancer activity as demonstrated in various cancer cell lines. We also report the development of micropropagation protocols for rapid mass multiplication and conservation of Scutellaria species.

Technical Abstract: Our current research emphasis is on medicinal, nutraceutical, and biofuel plants. We have been working on bioactive flavonoids from Scutellaria for their anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. There is very little scientific evidence on the anticancer activity of Scutellaria species, most of which have come from studies on the root extracts of a limited number of species, namely, Scutellaria baicalensis and S. barbata. Leaf and stem extracts of Scutellaria, although known to be substantially rich in flavonoid content and other active ingredients, have rarely been studied for their potential biomedical activities. Among the leaf, stem, and root extracts examined, the leaf extracts of two Himalayan species, S. angulosa and S. scandens, showed consistent, dose-dependent, antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic activities against various malignant cell lines. Here we report the development of micropropagation protocols for rapid mass multiplication and conservation of Scutellaria species. This study addresses concerns related to the need to be attentive to issues of sustainable and ethical harvests, as the majority of plants entering the trade are still being sourced from the wild.