4.1.9 Scutellaria Barbata

4.1.9 Scutellaria Barbata

Scutellaria barbata D. Don, also known as “parallel-head grass,” is the dried whole plant of Scutellaria barbata, a member of the Lamiaceae family. It is mainly produced in Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and other provinces. Its taste is pungent and bitter, its nature cold, and it enters the Lung, Liver, and Kidney meridians. Its main constituents include flavonoids, diterpenes, diterpene lactones, and polysaccharides [108], with functions such as reducing swelling and relieving pain, promoting blood circulation and removing stasis, clearing heat and detoxifying, and promoting diuresis. Numerous studies have confirmed that Scutellaria barbata inhibits various tumor cells, including liver cancer cells, lung cancer cells, cervical cancer cells, and gastric cancer cells. Research shows that Scutellaria barbata extract has significant anti-tumor proliferative activity against the S180 transplanted sarcoma in mice and the H22 transplanted liver cancer in mice [109]; it exerts anti-tumor effects by activating the Bcl-2 gene family of tumor-suppressor genes, blocking the cell cycle, inducing apoptosis, and inhibiting the proliferation of QGY-7701 cells [110]. Gao Dong et al. [111] believe that the mechanism by which Scutellaria barbata induces tumor cell apoptosis may be related to increasing the concentration of free calcium inside HeLa cells.