ARS | Publication request: Headspace Volatiles of Scutellaria Baicalensis Georgi Flowers

Submitted to: Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: June 18, 2009
Publication Date: August 1, 2009
Citation: Takeoka, G.R., Rodriguez, D.M., Dao, L.T., Patterson, R. 2010. Headspace Volatiles of Scutellaria Baicalensis Georgi Flowers. Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants. 12(4), 435-442.

Interpretive Summary: Plants of the Scutellaria L. (Lamiaceae) genus are widely distributed throughout the world and are represented by about 300 species. Among these species, S. baicalensis Georgi is the most often used in traditional medical systems of China, India, Korea, Japan, various European and North American countries. The roots of this plant are used for the treatment of fevers, suppurative dermatitis, diarrhea, cancer, and bacterial and viral infections of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract (i.e., chronic bronchitis, bacillary dysentery, viral hepatitis and acute biliary tract infection). Previous studies on Scutellaria spp. have revealed that non-volatiles such as flavonoids, iridoids, tannins, lignins, diterpenes and triterpenes are present in different parts of the plant. Flavonoids identified in S. baicalensis have diverse biological activities including antitumor, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiallergenic, and antioxidant activities. There are a few reports on the antimicrobial activity of the essential oils obtained from the distillation of aerial parts of Scutellaria plants. In our continuing search for biologically active natural constituents, we investigated the volatiles in S. baicalensis flowers. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the volatile constituents of Scutellaria baicalensis flowers. We identified a total of 64 constituents in S. baicalensis flowers. Our next step is to study the biological activity of the identified constituents.

Technical Abstract: Volatile constituents of Baikal skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi) flowers were isolated by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. A total of 64 constituents was identified (constituting 57.1 – 89.9% of the total area), 13 of which were tentatively identified. beta-Caryophyllene (22.3 – 41.5%), germacrene D (12.4 – 27.5%), delta-cadinene (3.1 – 5.4%), gamma-muurolene (1.9 – 3.4%), gamma-cadinene (1.6 – 3.1%), alpha-humulene (1.6 – 2.6%), alpha-copaene (1.4 – 2.3%), alpha-muurolene (1.0 – 2.6%), bicyclogermacrene (1.1 – 2.1%), and 3-octanone (0.9 – 3.0%) were the major constituents of the flower volatiles. A small amount (0.5%) of the uncommon volatile, 2-(methylamino)benzaldehyde, was detected in one of the samples.