Monday, November 30, 2009

Skullcap

Skullcap:-

Botanical name:-
Scutellaria baicalensis


Other names:-
Chinese Skullcap, Huang Qin, Baikal, baical skullcap root, scute, Scutellaria.


Habitat:-
Chinese Skullcap is native to eastern Asia. It thrives on sunny, grassy slopes in higher elevations. This plant grows well in sandy, rocky soilsand prefers full Sun This plant prefers dry soils and does well in cultivated plant beds.

Plant Description:-
This perennial grows to a height of 0.3 meters and a width of 0.3 meters. This plant has narrow, single erect stems with many 2.5inch blue-purple flowers. This plant is anchored by a skinless, yellow root.


Plant Parts Used:-
The root of Chinese skullcap is used for medicinal purposes.

Therapeutic applications:-


  • Chinese skullcap has shown anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory properties, making it useful as an herbal preparation arthritis treatment.
  • This plant is a powerful antioxidant that this herb helpful in preventing heart disease and heart damage limitation after anheart attack.
  • Chinese skullcap may even anti-cancer properties, especially useful in the bladder, liver and other cancers.

  • This medicine may be useful as a treatment for hepatitis.


  • It also has antihistamine properties that make it a useful one herb for the treatment of asthma and allergies such as hay fever.


  • In traditional Chinese medicine baical skullcap is used to treat dysentery, irritability, diarrhea, infections accompanied by fever, urinary tract infectioninfections, gout, jaundice, nosebleed, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain and redness of the eyes and face.


  • This herb is also combined with other herbs to combat high cholesterol and triglycerides, high blood pressure, allergic diseases, and inflammatoryskin diseases.


  • Chinese skullcap has also demonstrated aspirin-like anti-inflammatory properties.

Dosage and Administration:-

This herb is usually root in bulk form or in capsule form. The capsule form is often mixed with other herbs. Three capsules of the usualdaily dose can be taken. The root can be dried and ground into powder form. 5-15 grams of this powder can be added to 1 cup boiling watera tea. The chinese skullcap root is usually decocted but it can be fried or cooked in wine for various disorders.

Side effects and possible interactions:-

  • Skullcap is considered safe at therapeutic doses. This herb should not be used as the sole treatment for cancer, and may not bewith other anti-cancer drugs without consulting a doctor.


  • The safety of this herb in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children is not established.


  • Skullcap should not be used by people with severe liver or kidney disease. This herb may interact with cyclopsporine (a drug used to preventorgan rejection.)

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