An Untapped Resource in the Spotlight of Medicinal Biotechnology: the Genus Scutellaria.

Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2018 Jun 25. doi: 10.2174/1389201019666180626105402. [Epub ahead of print] Grzegorczyk-Karolak I1, Wiktorek-Smagur A2, Hnatuszko-Konka K3. Author information 1 Department of Biology and Pharmaceutical Botany, Medical University of Lodz, Muszynskiego 1, 90-151 Lodz. Poland. 2 Department for Good Laboratory Practice, Bureau for Chemical Substances, Dowborczykow 30/34, 90-019 Lodz. Poland. 3 Department of Genetics, Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 . Poland. Abstract BACKGROUND: This review is intended to draw the attention of pharmaceutical and biotechnological communities to the untapped potential of the Scutellaria genus. Skullcaps, as they are more widely known, are found in one of the oldest materia medica in the world, that of ancient Chinese pharmacology, and their numerous wide range of medicinal bioactivities have been studied both in vivo and in vitro. For thousands of years, chemical compounds from the Scutellaria species have been safely used as antitumor, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant or hepatoprotective factors. OBJECTIVE: As these effects are well known, reflected in the presence of Scutellaria plants in national pharmacopoeias, it is clear that the plant has yet enormous unexploited potential. The European pharmacological market has turned to the resources of Scutellaria only in the last two decades, and although the construction and clinical processing of a new drug is a long process, the general impression is that very few medical products in pharmacies have been inspired by the phytochemistry of skullcaps. CONCLUSION: This paper presents the current state of knowledge on the wealth of Scutellaria chemical compounds with treatment applications, its tissue culture and biotechnological achievements, especially in the context of the production of secondary metabolites. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.