I Cherokee conoscono le proprietà della Scutellaria lateriflora da almeno 1000 anni: l’infuso ottenuto dalle radici veniva impiegato per alleviare la diarrea ed incoraggiare il flusso mestruale, il decotto veniva consumato come emetico e per espellere la placenta, veniva applicata anche localmente. Le foglie venivano utilizzate nel rituale di transizione delle fanciulle nel mondo delle donne adulte. Inoltre, in base ad una ricerca del 1885, credevano che la pianta contrastasse gli effetti negativi dovuti al cibo cucinato da una donna durante le mestruazioni [2].
Gli Irochesi preparavano un infuso con le raduci macinate come profilattico per il vaiolo e rimedio per dolori al seno, disturbi renali o alla gola [3].
I Miwok impiegavano diverse specie di Scutellaria in decotto come rimedio per raffreddore e tosse, oltre che come collirio medicinale [4].
Era considerata anche un rimedio utile per diarrea, problemi renali, influenza, raffreddore, mal di gola
Si dice che venisse consumata dagli sciamani a dosi orali estremamente alte per avere delle visioni.

A Trinidad e nella Columbia Britannica la skullcap americana viene largamente impiegata come tonico nervoso ed analgesico veterinario: mischiata a valeriana e luppolo viene aggiunta al foraggio dei cavalli prima di una corsa per alleviare l’ansia. Viene anche somministrata per due o tre giorni dopo un attacco di colite per riequilibrare la flora batterica danneggiata [5].

I Mongoli la davano da mangiare agli animali rabbiosi [6], successivamente nel 1700 si diffuse tra gli erboristi come rimedio miracoloso per l’idrofobia e la rabbia, per questo venne chiamata “mad-dog weed” [7].
Il medico del XVIII secolo Joseph Bates critica l’applicazione antirabbica ma loda le proprietà dell’estratto fluido di Scutellaria lateriflora per il trattamento dell’irritabilità e dell’irrequietezza infantile. Inoltre lo raccomanda contro isteria, febbre tifoide, polmonite, artrite e come sostituto più sicuro dell’oppio [8].
In quel periodo veniva prescritta anche per curare nervosismo, bruxismo, esaurimento, fatica cronica, spasmi muscolari, disturbi cardiaci, isteria, tremori, sussulti tendinei, convulsioni, delirium tremens, febbre intermittente, neuralgia, epilessia, paralisi agitans, insonnia e corea. Molte di queste sue indicazioni vennero inserite nel King’s American Dispensatory e nel The America Materia Medica.

Flavonoidi: baicalina, diidrobaicalina, baicaleina, wogonina, wogonoside, lateriflorina, laterifloreina, ikonnikoside I, scutellarina, scutellareina, orossillina A, diidrooroxilina A, crisina,  diidrocrisina, decursina, 6-metossiwogonina, verbascoside, apigenina, apigetrina;

 fenoli: acido caffeico, acido cinnamico, acido p-cumarico, acido ferulico; terpenoidi: scutelaterine, ajugapitina, scuteciprolo, δ-cadinene, calamenene, β-elemene (9.2%), α-cubenene, α- humulene, and α-bergamotene, guaiolo, lupeolo, β-pinene, camfene, ossido di cariofillene;

fenilpropanoidi: aldeide cinnamica, safrolo;

altri: melatonina, serotonina, GABA, glutammina.

La parte aerea essiccata contiene fino al 5% di baicalina, la quantità è massima durante la fioritura [51].

2)Mooney, James. “The sacred formulas of the Cherokees.” Seventh annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1885-1886 (1892).

3)Moerman, Daniel E. Native american ethnobotany. Vol. 879. Portland, OR: Timber press, 1998.

4)Barrett, Samuel Alfred, and Edward Winslow Gifford. Miwok material culture. Yosemite Natural History Association, 1933.

5)Lans, Cheryl, et al. “Ethnoveterinary medicines used for horses in Trinidad and in British Columbia, Canada.” Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2.1 (2006).

6)Barrett, Samuel Alfred, and Edward Winslow Gifford. Miwok material culture. Yosemite Natural History Association, 1933.

7)Barton, William PC. “ART. VIII. Remarks on the Reputed Sanative and Prophylactic Virtues of Scutellaria Lateriflora or Scull-Cap.” The Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences (1820-1827) 1.2 (1820): 383.

8)BATES, JOSEPH. “On the fluid extract of Scutellaria lateriflora.” The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 52.17 (1855): 336-337.

9)Wolfson, P., and D. L. Hoffmann. “An investigation into the efficacy of Scutellaria lateriflora in healthy volunteers.” Alternative therapies in health & medicine 9.2 (2003).

10)Brock, Christine, et al. “American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora): A randomised, double‐blind placebo‐controlled crossover study of its effects on mood in healthy volunteers.” Phytotherapy research 28.5 (2014).

11)Li, Y. C., et al. “Screening of antidepressant effects of four main flavonoids compounds from Scutellaria baicalensis.” Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 18 (2012).

12)Park, Hyung-Geun, et al. “Different effects of flavonoids in Scutellaria baicalensis on anxious and sedative behaviors.” Biomolecules & Therapeutics 14.2 (2006).

13)Hui, Kwok Min, et al. “Anxiolytic effect of wogonin, a benzodiazepine receptor ligand isolated from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi.” Biochemical pharmacology 64.9 (2002).

14)Chang, Han-Han, et al. “Biphasic effects of baicalin, an active constituent of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, in the spontaneous sleep–wake regulation.” Journal of ethnopharmacology 135.2 (2011).

15)Tsay, Hsin-Sheng, et al., eds. Medicinal plants-recent advances in research and development. Springer Singapore, 2016.

16)Zhu, Weili, et al. “Antidepressant Effect of Baicalin Extracted from the Root of Scutellaria baicalensis. in Mice and Rats.” Pharmaceutical biology 44.7 (2006).

17)Zhang, Kuo, et al. “Revealing antidepressant mechanisms of baicalin in hypothalamus through systems approaches in corticosterone-induced depressed mice.” Frontiers in neuroscience 13 (2019).

18)Lee, Hyun Woo, et al. “Potent inhibition of monoamine oxidase A by decursin from Angelica gigas Nakai and by wogonin from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi.” International journal of biological macromolecules 97 (2017).

19)Zhang, Zhizhen, et al. “Characterization of chemical ingredients and anticonvulsant activity of American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora).” Phytomedicine 16.5 (2009).

20)Park, Hyung Geun, et al. “Anticonvulsant effect of wogonin isolated from Scutellaria baicalensis.” European Journal of Pharmacology 574.2-3 (2007).

21)Lohani, Madhukar, et al. “Anti-oxidative and DNA protecting effects of flavonoids-rich Scutellaria lateriflora.” Natural product communications 8.10 (2013).

22)Eiden, Martin, et al. “A medicinal herb Scutellaria lateriflora inhibits PrP replication in vitro and delays the onset of prion disease in mice.” Frontiers in psychiatry 3 (2012).

23)Sung, Nak Yoon, et al. “Effects of scutellarein, a flavonoid of Scutellaria lateriflora, on inflammatory responses.” 한국식품영양과학회 학술대회발표집 (2015).

24)Chou, Tz-Chong, et al. “The antiinflammatory and analgesic effects of baicalin in carrageenan-evoked thermal hyperalgesia.” Anesthesia & Analgesia 97.6 (2003).

25)Hu, Shan, et al. “The analgesic and antineuroinflammatory effect of baicalein in cancer-induced bone pain.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2015 (2015).

26)Shen, Jie, et al. “Traditional uses, ten-years research progress on phytochemistry and pharmacology, and clinical studies of the genus Scutellaria.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 265 (2021): 113198.

27)Lai, Chang-Chi, et al. “Baicalein, a component of Scutellaria baicalensis, attenuates kidney injury induced by myocardial ischemia and reperfusion.” Planta medica 82.03 (2016).

28)Gasiorowski, Kazimierz, et al. “Flavones from root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi: drugs of the future in neurodegeneration?.” CNS & Neurological Disorders-Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets-CNS & Neurological Disorders) 10.2 (2011): 184-191.

29)Zhang, Xue, et al. “Baicalein exerts anti-neuroinflammatory effects to protect against rotenone-induced brain injury in rats.” International Immunopharmacology 50 (2017): 38-47.

30)Lim, Hye-Sun, et al. “Apigetrin from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi inhibits neuroinflammation in BV-2 microglia and exerts neuroprotective effect in HT22 hippocampal cells.” Journal of medicinal food 19.11 (2016).

31)Hong, Li. “Biological Activities of Scutellaria baicalenisis Georgi and Their Applications in Cosmetics [J].” Flavour Fragrance Cosmetics 5 (2006).

32)Yun, Mi-Young, et al. “Bioconversion from Scutellaria baicalensis (baicalin) feremted with Leatiporus sulphureus into enriched-baicalein and anti-wrinkle effects.” Pharmacognosy Magazine 14.57 (2018).

33)Wojcikowski, Ken, et al. “An in vitro investigation of herbs traditionally used for kidney and urinary system disorders: potential therapeutic and toxic effects.” Nephrology 14.1 (2009): 70-79.

34)Li-Weber, Min. “New therapeutic aspects of flavones: the anticancer properties of Scutellaria and its main active constituents Wogonin, Baicalein and Baicalin.” Cancer treatment reviews 35.1 (2009): 57-68.

35)Zhu, Yanping, Yanxia Fu, and Hairong Lin. “Baicalin inhibits renal cell apoptosis and protects against acute kidney injury in pediatric sepsis.” Medical science monitor: international medical journal of experimental and clinical research 22 (2016).

36)Orzechowska, Beata U., et al. “Antitumor effect of baicalin from the Scutellaria baicalensis radix extract in B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia with different chromosomal rearrangements.” International Immunopharmacology 79 (2020).

37)Ke, Mengyun, et al. “Baicalein and baicalin promote antitumor immunity by suppressing PD-L1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.” International immunopharmacology 75 (2019).

38)Liu, Hui, et al. “The fascinating effects of baicalein on cancer: a review.” International journal of molecular sciences 17.10 (2016).

39)Luo, Rong, et al. “Synthesis and biological evaluation of baicalein derivatives as potent antitumor agents.” Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters 24.5 (2014).

40)Sonoda, Maki, et al. “Cytotoxic activities of flavonoids from two Scutellaria plants in Chinese medicine.” Journal of ethnopharmacology 91.1 (2004).

41)Zhou, Hong-Chao, et al. “Hepatoprotective effect of baicalein against acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury in mice.” Molecules 24.1 (2019).

42)Li, Hai-Di, et al. “Wogonin attenuates inflammation by activating PPAR-γ in alcoholic liver disease.” International Immunopharmacology 50 (2017).

43)Kang, Min-Hee, et al. “Antigastritic and Anti Helicobacter pylori Effects of Baicalein from Scutellaria Baicalensis.” Yakhak Hoeji 51.1 (2007).

44)Kuroda, Minpei, Katsura Iwabuchi, and Yoshihiro Mimaki. “Chemical constituents of the aerial parts of Scutellaria lateriflora and their α-glucosidase inhibitory activities.” Natural Product Communications 7.4 (2012).

45)Shi, Hengfei, et al. “Baicalin from Scutellaria baicalensis blocks respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection and reduces inflammatory cell infiltration and lung injury in mice.” Scientific reports 6 (2016).

46)Hour, Mann-Jen, et al. “Baicalein, ethyl acetate, and chloroform extracts of Scutellaria baicalensis inhibit the neuraminidase activity of pandemic 2009 H1N1 and seasonal influenza A viruses.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2013 (2013).

47)Liu, Hongbo, et al. “Scutellaria baicalensis extract and baicalein inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-2 and its 3C-like protease in vitro.” Journal of enzyme inhibition and medicinal chemistry 36.1 (2021): 497-503.

48)Bergeron, Chantal, et al. “Screening of plants used by North American Indians for antifungal, bactericidal, larvicidal and molluscicidal activities.” International Journal of Pharmacognosy 34.4 (1996).

49)Sandasi, Maxleene, et al. “Skullcap and germander: preventing potential toxicity through the application of hyperspectral imaging and multivariate image analysis as a novel quality control method.” Planta medica 80.15 (2014).

50)LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury [Internet]. “Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.” (2012).

51)Upton, Roy, and R. H. DAyu. “Skullcap Scutellaria lateriflora L.: an American nervine.” Journal of Herbal Medicine 2.3 (2012).