Ban Zhi Lian
StarScutellaria barbata D. Don
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat and Resolves Toxicity; Resolves Fire toxins (especially tumors and sores); Invigorates Blood and Dispels Stasis; Stops Bleeding; Promotes Urination and Reduces Edema; Reduces Swelling and Alleviates Pain
Traditional Chinese Uses
Ban Zhi Lian (scutellaria barbata herb) is a cold, bitter herb with a strong reputation in Chinese medicine for clearing Heat toxin, reducing swelling, and dispersing Blood stasis. It is used for toxic swellings, snake bites, carbuncles, and inflammatory conditions involving Heat toxin and Blood stasis. Modern Chinese medicine has employed it extensively in oncology-adjacent formulas, often combined with Bai Hua She She Cao, for conditions where Heat toxin and stasis are prominent features.
Botanical Description
Scutellaria barbata, barbed skullcap, is a slender erect perennial herb of the family Lamiaceae native to moist grasslands, paddy margins and streamsides throughout central, southern and eastern China, Korea, Japan and parts of Southeast Asia. It produces a short, fibrous-rooted rhizome and quadrangular, sparsely pubescent stems 15-55 cm tall, branched from the base. The opposite, short-petiolate, triangular-ovate to lanceolate leaves are 1.5-3 cm long with shallowly crenate margins and a truncate to broadly cuneate base. Small bilabiate flowers 1-1.5 cm long are borne singly in the upper leaf axils, arranged in unilateral leafy racemes; the corolla is bluish-purple with the characteristic Scutellaria-typical scutellum (shield-like outgrowth) on the upper calyx lip, which enlarges and persists in fruit. The four small ovoid nutlets mature within the closed lower calyx lip. The whole flowering herb with root is harvested in summer.
Active Constituents
Scutellarin
Flavone glycosideConcentration: One of the principal flavonoids; a validated marker in Chinese Pharmacopoeia assays
A flavone glucuronide with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activity. In tumor models it contributes to inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis, and is used as a quality-control marker for the herb.
Scutellarein
Flavone (aglycone)Concentration: Minor to moderate aglycone constituent
The aglycone of scutellarin; shows antioxidant and anti-tumor activity and inhibits several inflammatory mediators.
Luteolin
FlavoneConcentration: Documented flavonoid constituent
Broadly studied flavone that induces apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest and downregulates matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2/MMP-9), reducing tumor-cell invasion and migration.
Apigenin
FlavoneConcentration: Present as free aglycone and glycosides (e.g., apigenin-5-O-glucoside)
Pro-apoptotic and anti-angiogenic flavone; modulates PI3K/Akt/mTOR, MAPK and NF-κB signalling in cancer-cell models.
Wogonin
FlavoneConcentration: Documented flavonoid constituent
O-methylated flavone with anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity, promoting apoptosis and suppressing NF-κB-driven proliferation.
Baicalein
FlavoneConcentration: Documented flavonoid constituent
Antioxidant flavone reported to inhibit tumor-cell growth and angiogenesis and to modulate immune cytokine profiles.
Scutebarbatines (e.g., scutebarbatine C, D, E)
neo-Clerodane diterpenoid alkaloidsConcentration: Characteristic diterpenoid class; multiple congeners isolated
Diterpenoid alkaloids nearly unique to S. barbata; several show cytotoxicity against tumor cell lines and reversal of multidrug resistance in vitro.
Quercetin
FlavonolConcentration: Minor flavonol constituent
Antioxidant flavonol contributing to free-radical scavenging and pro-apoptotic signalling.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Hepatotoxic drugs (e.g., high-dose acetaminophen, methotrexate)
Concentrated S. barbata aqueous extract (BZL101) produced reversible transaminase elevation, including a grade 4 AST rise, in a phase 1B trial. Co-use with other hepatotoxic agents could theoretically compound liver enzyme elevation.
Clinical note: Monitor liver function if used in high doses alongside hepatotoxic medications.
Cytochrome P450 / P-gp substrate drugs
Flavonoids such as luteolin, apigenin, wogonin and baicalein can inhibit selected CYP isoenzymes and efflux transporters in vitro, which could theoretically alter plasma concentrations of co-administered substrate drugs.
Clinical note: Clinical significance in humans is unconfirmed; use caution with narrow-therapeutic-index drugs.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 6-15g | Daily | — | — | — |
Preparation Methods
Decoction (water extract)
Parts: whole herb (aerial parts)
Typically 15-30 g of the dried whole herb (larger doses used in oncological support) is decocted in water. In classical practice it is combined with other heat-clearing, toxicity-resolving and blood-invigorating herbs.
Fresh herb / external application
Parts: fresh whole herb
Fresh herb may be crushed and applied topically to sores, swellings and snakebite in traditional use, or the juice expressed and taken.
Clinical Studies
Phase I trial and antitumor effects of BZL101 for patients with advanced breast cancer
An orally administered aqueous extract of S. barbata (BZL101) was evaluated in heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer patients. It was well tolerated with predominantly low-grade gastrointestinal toxicity and showed early signals of disease stabilization.
A phase 1B dose escalation trial of Scutellaria barbata (BZL101) for patients with metastatic breast cancer
Twenty-seven women with metastatic breast cancer received escalating doses of BZL101 up to 40 g/day. Grade 3-4 adverse events were uncommon; the maximum tolerated dose was not reached, and 21% of patients had stable disease for more than 120 days.
Historical Texts
Ben Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi (Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica), Zhao Xuemin
Qing dynasty (1765)Guangxi / Fujian folk materia medica traditions
Traditional (documented in modern provincial herbals)References
- Wang Y, et al.. Chemical Constituents, Anti-Tumor Mechanisms, and Clinical Application: A Comprehensive Review on Scutellaria barbata . Molecules (2024) [DOI]
- Gao J, Yin W, Corcoran O. From Scutellaria barbata to BZL101 in Cancer Patients: Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Clinical Evidence . Natural Product Communications (2019) [DOI]
- Chen VP, et al.. Scutellaria barbata: A Review on Chemical Constituents, Pharmacological Activities and Clinical Applications . Current Medicinal Chemistry (2020) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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