Huang Qin
StarScutellaria baicalensis Georgi
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat and dries Dampness; Purges Fire and Resolves Toxicity; Stops Bleeding; Calms the Fetus
Traditional Chinese Uses
Huang Qin (Chinese skullcap root, baical skullcap) is one of the most important and widely prescribed Heat-clearing herbs in Chinese medicine. It drains Fire and Damp-Heat from the Upper Burner, making it a primary herb for febrile illness, Lung Heat with cough and yellow phlegm, and Upper Burner inflammation. It also clears Damp-Heat from the Stomach, Intestines, and Gallbladder, addressing dysentery, jaundice, and Damp-Heat diarrhea. Additionally, it cools the Blood to stop bleeding and calms the fetus in heat-related threatened miscarriage.
Western Herbalism Properties
Used In Formulas (4)
Botanical Description
Scutellaria baicalensis is a herbaceous perennial in the Lamiaceae, native to northeastern China, Mongolia, southeastern Siberia, Korea and parts of Japan, where it grows on dry, sunny grassy slopes, rocky open ground and gravelly riverbanks. Plants form clumps 30-60 cm tall from a stout, woody, branching taproot that is bright yellow inside. The four-angled stems are erect to ascending and bear opposite, narrowly lanceolate to linear leaves 2-5 cm long, with entire to faintly toothed margins and short petioles. From early summer the species produces showy, one-sided racemes of violet-blue to purplish, two-lipped tubular flowers about 2-3 cm long, the upper lip helmet-shaped and the lower lip three-lobed. The fruits are small, dark-coloured nutlets enclosed in the persistent calyx, whose upper lip bears the characteristic scutellate appendage of the genus. The roots are harvested in autumn of the third or fourth year.
Active Constituents
Baicalin
Flavone-7-O-glucuronideConcentration: Not less than 9.0% of dried root (Chinese Pharmacopoeia marker)
The dominant and defining constituent of the root, with well-characterised anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, hepatoprotective and antipyretic activity. It suppresses inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta) and mediates much of the herb's heat-clearing, fire-purging action.
Baicalein
Flavone (aglycone of baicalin)Concentration: Approx. 0.5-5% of dried root (increases with processing)
The lipophilic aglycone with strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, 12-lipoxygenase-inhibiting and antitumour activity; more readily absorbed than baicalin and a major driver of the root's pharmacology.
Wogonoside
Flavone-7-O-glucuronideConcentration: Approx. 2-4% of dried root
A glucuronide flavone contributing anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects; hydrolysed to wogonin in the gut for absorption.
Wogonin
Methoxylated flavoneConcentration: Approx. 0.1-1% of dried root
A lipophilic flavone with anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and antitumour activity; modulates GABA-A receptors and NF-kB signalling.
Oroxylin A
Methoxylated flavoneConcentration: Trace to ~0.3% of dried root
A minor flavone with anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and P-glycoprotein-modulating activity, contributing to the overall antioxidant and anti-tumour profile.
Skullcapflavone II
Polymethoxylated flavoneConcentration: Trace amounts
A characteristic Scutellaria flavone with anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic activity, of interest as a chemotaxonomic marker.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Rosuvastatin
Baicalin inhibits/modulates the hepatic uptake transporter OATP1B1 (SLCO1B1). In a controlled human study it reduced rosuvastatin plasma concentrations in carriers of the OATP1B1*1b haplotype, with no change in *15/*15 carriers, indicating a genotype-dependent herb-drug interaction.
Clinical note: Separate administration and monitor lipid response; the effect can lower rosuvastatin efficacy in susceptible patients.
Cyclosporine (ciclosporin)
Multiple-dose baicalin induces intestinal P-glycoprotein and modulates CYP3A, decreasing the oral bioavailability of ciclosporin in animal studies. Given ciclosporin's narrow therapeutic index, a clinically meaningful reduction in blood levels is plausible.
Clinical note: Avoid concurrent use in transplant patients or monitor ciclosporin trough levels closely if unavoidable.
CYP3A4 substrates (e.g. midazolam, nifedipine)
Baicalin inhibits CYP3A activity and displaces protein-bound drugs in rat models, raising exposure of CYP3A substrates such as midazolam and nifedipine. Human relevance is likely but not fully quantified.
Clinical note: Use caution and monitor for exaggerated effects of narrow-index CYP3A substrates.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 6-15g | Daily | — | — | — |
Preparation Methods
Raw (sheng) dried root, decoction
Parts: Dried root
Typical dose 3-10 g. The raw root most strongly clears heat, drains fire and resolves toxicity, especially in the upper burner (lung heat, high fever). Roots are briefly steamed or boiled during processing to inactivate endogenous beta-glucuronidase, preventing enzymatic hydrolysis of baicalin and preserving potency.
Wine-fried (jiu chao) root
Parts: Dried root
Stir-frying with wine directs the action upward to clear heat in the upper body and lungs and is traditionally used to clear heat in the upper burner and during pregnancy support formulas.
Dry-fried (chao) root
Parts: Dried root
Plain dry-frying moderates the intensely cold nature so it is gentler on the Spleen and Stomach, favoured for damp-heat of the middle burner and to calm a restless fetus.
Charred root (Huang Qin Tan)
Parts: Dried root
Charring enhances the hemostatic action, used for bleeding due to heat such as hemoptysis or uterine bleeding. Traditionally, hollow older roots (Ku Qin) are chosen to clear Lung heat and solid younger roots (Zi Qin) to clear heat of the lower burner and large intestine.
Clinical Studies
The Effect of Herbal Medicine Baicalin on Pharmacokinetics of Rosuvastatin, Substrate of Organic Anion-transporting Polypeptide 1B1
In 18 healthy volunteers stratified by OATP1B1 haplotype, baicalin significantly reduced rosuvastatin plasma concentrations in OATP1B1*1b carriers but not in *15/*15 carriers, demonstrating a clinically relevant, genotype-dependent transporter-mediated herb-drug interaction.
Old formula, new Rx: The journey of PHY906 as cancer adjuvant therapy
Reviews the development of PHY906 (Huang-Qin-Tang, in which Scutellaria baicalensis is the sovereign herb) as a standardised adjuvant that reduces chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal toxicity in clinical trials while enhancing anti-tumour activity, illustrating the modern evidence base for Huang Qin.
Historical Texts
Shennong Bencao Jing (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica)
Eastern Han, c. 200 CEShang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage), Zhang Zhongjing
Eastern Han, c. 200 CEReferences
- Fan L, Zhang W, Guo D, Tan ZR, Xu P, Li Q, et al.. The Effect of Herbal Medicine Baicalin on Pharmacokinetics of Rosuvastatin, Substrate of Organic Anion-transporting Polypeptide 1B1 . Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2008) [DOI]
- Zhou X, Fu L, Wang P, Yang L, Zhu X, Li CG. Drug-herb interactions between Scutellaria baicalensis and pharmaceutical drugs: Insights from experimental studies, mechanistic actions to clinical applications . Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (2021) [DOI]
- Zhao Q, Chen XY, Martin C. Scutellaria baicalensis, the golden herb from the garden of Chinese medicinal plants . Science Bulletin (2016) [DOI]
- Liu SH, Cheng YC. Old formula, new Rx: The journey of PHY906 as cancer adjuvant therapy . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2012) [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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