Pharmacophylogenetic study of Scutellaria baicalensis and its substitute medicinal species based on the chloroplast genomics, metabolomics, and active ingredient

Abstract

The genetic relationships among the species in Scutellaria genus remain unclear because of the variation in the number of species and complex trait. The usage of S. baicalensis and its four substitute medicinal species (S. amoena, S. hypericifolia, S. likiangensis, and S. viscidula) in traditional medicines make their specialized metabolism important in China, but interspecific genetic and chemical differences have rarely been reported for these species. In this study, the chloroplast genomes of four substitute species for S. baicalensis were assembled, and comparative and phylogenetic analyses were performed with these species and other Scutellaria relatives. In addition, metabolomics analyses were performed and the contents of the main active compounds were determined to reveal the interspecific chemical diversity of S. baicalensis and its four substitute species. The full lengths of their chloroplast genomes ranged from 151,574 to 151,816 bp with an average GC content of 38.34%, and a total of 113 genes were annotated. In the chloroplast genomes of S. baicalensis and its four substitutes, one hypervariable region (petA-psbL) is proposed as a potential DNA barcode. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the subdivision of the genus Scutellaria should be reconsidered. The metabolomics and content determination analyses showed that the four species exhibit a metabolism similar to that of S. baicalensis in different parts. Except for the roots of S. likiangensis, all parts of the substitute species showed high contents of baicalin. Genetic and chemical analyses of four substitute medicinal species for S. baicalensis were performed here for the first time, and their pharmacophylogenetic relationships were further explored, providing a scientific basis for the subsequent development of the medicinal value and resource utilization of Scutellaria.

Characterization of chemical constituents and metabolites in vivo and in vitro after oral administration of Wuteng tablets in rats by UHPLC–Q/TOF–MS

“…Metabolomics technology can simultaneously realize absolute qualitative and quantitative analyses of drugs on three levels: the chemical components of the drug itself, the secondary metabolic components produced in vivo at different time points and the endogenous metabolites of the organism at different time points (Cao et al, 2015; Li et al, 2013; Su et al, 2019). The application of metabolomic technology to examine the overall metabolite groups of herbs and study the metabolic phenotypes of herbal germplasm resources will provide a scientific basis for the sustainable development and utilization of various herbal resources (Duan et al, 2018; Jiang et al, 2021; Shen et al, 2022; Zeng et al, 2022). It is of theoretical significance and practical value to ensure the rational, safe and effective use of traditional Chinese medicine with modern scientific methods and standards for understanding it (Wang et al, 2017, 2021; Wei et al, 2022).…”

The Extract of Scutellaria baicalensis Attenuates the Pattern Recognition Receptor Pathway Activation Induced by Influenza A Virus in Macrophages

“…Scutellaria baicalinase Georgi, commonly named HuangQin in Chinese, is a plant of the genus Lamiaceae, and its root is the main part used in medicine [9,10]. Since the chemical composition and pharmacological effects have been elucidated, Scutellaria baicalensis has extensive development prospects in the treatment of a wide range of diseases with pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-tumor properties [11][12][13]. Previous reports illustrated that Scutellaria baicalensis reduced virus titer, viral nucleoprotein (NP), proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6 and increased the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10, interferon (IFN)-γ, thereby alleviating the lung injury caused by IAV infection [14][15][16][17].…”