Scutellarin is a

flavone Flavone is an organic compound with the formula . A white solid, flavone is a derivative of chromone with a phenyl (Ph) substituent adjacent to the ether group. The compound is of little direct practical importance, but susbstituted derivatives, t ...

, a type of phenolic chemical compound. It can be found in the plants ''

Scutellaria barbata ''Scutellaria barbata'', the barbed skullcap, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to Asia.

'' and '' S. lateriflora'' which have been used in traditional medicine''.'' The determination of the structure of scutellarin took

Guido Goldschmiedt Guido Goldschmiedt (May 29, 1850 – August 6, 1915) was an Austrian chemist. During his career, he collaborated with Bunsen in Heidelberg and Baeyer in Straßburg. In 1891, he became full professor at the University of Vienna and later at the Uni ...

many years: after the first publication on that topic in 1901, only in 1910 he managed to obtain enough starting material for more detailed studies. Scutellarin has been shown to induce apoptosis of ovarian and breast tumor cells ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology and ...

''. Scutellarin also shows protective effects for nerve cells that are affected by estrogen. Scutellarin has been shown as a potential treatment for

diabetic retinopathy Diabetic retinopathy (also known as diabetic eye disease), is a medical condition in which damage occurs to the retina due to diabetes mellitus. It is a leading cause of blindness in developed countries. Diabetic retinopathy affects up to 80 perc ...

, which could prevent diabetic blindness. In laboratory studies, scutellarin inhibits hypoxia-induced and moderately high glucose-induced proliferation and

vascular endothelial growth factor Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF, ), originally known as vascular permeability factor (VPF), is a signal protein produced by many cells that stimulates the formation of blood vessels. To be specific, VEGF is a sub-family of growth factors, ...

(VEGF) expression in human retinal endothelial cells; thus, it could be a potential therapy for diabetic retinopathy. However, how scutellarin inhibits VEGF is unknown. Scutellarin has anti-

HIV-1 The subtypes of HIV include two major types, HIV type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV type 2 (HIV-2). HIV-1 is related to viruses found in chimpanzees and gorillas living in western Africa, while HIV-2 viruses are related to viruses found in the sooty mangabey ...

effects as well. In laboratory studies, a drug-resistant type HIV-1 cell-to-cell infection was inhibited with significant potency. The scutellarin compound was found to inhibit several strains of HIV-1 replication with different potencies, by preventing HIV-1 particle attachment and cell fusion, as well as inhibiting HIV-1 retransmission.

References

Flavone glycosides Flavonoid glucuronides Glucuronide esters {{Aromatic-stub