This product is the root of the perennial herb Skullcap Root (Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi) from the Lamiaceae family. It is mainly produced in Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Henan, and Shaanxi. It is harvested in spring and autumn, then steamed or soaked in boiling water before being sliced. It can be used raw, stir-fried with wine, or stir-fried to scorch.

Skullcap Root (herbal decoction pieces)

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Bitter, cold. Act on lung, stomach, gallbladder and large intestinal channels.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Clearing heat and drying dampness, clearing heat and removing toxins, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, calming the fetus by clearing heat. This product is further divided into Ku Qin, which is the old root that has grown for many years and is good at clearing lung fire; Tiao Qin is the young root that has grown for a short time and is good at clearing the fire of the large intestine and purging dampness-heat in the lower energizer.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for dampness warm disease summerheat dampness, dampness-heat stuffiness, jaundice, diarrhea, and dysentery. This product is bitter and cold, clearing heat and drying dampness, capable of clearing dampness-heat from the lung, stomach, gallbladder, and large intestine meridians, especially effective for upper energizer dampness-heat. For treating dampness warm disease summerheat dampness, dampness-heat stagnation, chest and gastric stuffiness, nausea and vomiting, hidden fever, yellow and greasy tongue coating, it is often used with Talc, White Cardamom Seed, Ricepaperplant Pith, etc., such as Skullcap and Talc Decoction; if dampness-heat obstructs the middle, causing stuffiness, fullness, and vomiting, it is often combined with Coptis Rhizome, Dried Ginger, Pinellia, etc., for pungent dispersing and bitter descending, such as Pinellia Heart-Draining Decoction; if there is large intestine dampness-heat, diarrhea, and dysentery, it can be used with Coptis Rhizome, Pueraria Root, such as Pueraria, Skullcap and Coptis Decoction; for treating dampness-heat jaundice, it is used with Virgate Wormwood, Gardenia.
2. Used for lung heat cough, Rebing thirst. This product is good at clearing lung fire and real heat from the upper energizer. If lung heat is obstructed, causing the lung to lose its clear descending function, leading to cough with thick phlegm, it is effective when used alone, such as Qing Jin Pill; it can also be combined with White Mulberry Root-Bark, Anemarrhena, Ophiopogon Tuber, etc., to enhance the effect of clearing the lung and stopping coughing, such as Lung-Clearing Decoction. In addition, this product can also be used to treat external-contraction febrile disease, high fever and thirst caused by upper energizer stagnation heat, red face and dry lips, dark urine and constipation, yellow tongue coating and rapid pulse, often used with Mentha, Gardenia, Rhubarb Rhizoma, etc., to purge fire and promote bowel movement, such as Diaphragm-Cooling Powder. This product also enters the Shaoyang gallbladder meridian, used with Bupleurum to treat evil in Shaoyang with alternating chills and fever, having the effect of harmonizing lesser yang, such as Minor Bupleurum Decoction.
3. Used for painful swelling, sores, and throat pain. This product has a strong ability to remove toxins, purging fire toxin for sores, swelling, and throat pain, often used with Lonicera, Forsythia, Great Burdock Achene, Isatis Root, etc.
4. Used for blood heat vomiting and nosebleed. This product clears heat, cools blood, and stops bleeding, treating hemorrhagic syndrome caused by fire toxin forcing blood to move recklessly, such as hematemesis and nosebleed. Often combined with Unprocessed Rehmannia Root, Lalang Grass Rhizome, Sanqi, etc.
5. Used for fetal heat restlessness: This product has the effect of removing heat and calming the fetus, used to treat threatened abortion caused by heat in pregnancy. Often combined with White Atractylodes Rhizome, Chinese Angelica, etc., such as Angelica Powder.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Benjing: "Mainly treats various heat jaundice, intestinal dysentery and diarrhea, expels water, relieves blood stasis, malignant sores, jaundice, and fire gan (scleritis)."
2. Zhenzhunang: "Cools the heart, treats lung dampness stroke heat, purges lung fire rising counterflow, ...calms the fetus."
3. Bencao Zheng: "The dried form clears upper energizer fire, disperses phlegm, regulates qi, relieves wheezing and cough, stops loss of blood, reduces alternating chills and fever, wind-heat dampness-heat, headache, resolves pestilence, clears the throat, treats lung atrophy, acute mastitis, back gangrene, especially expels superficial heat, thus treats macula and papule, scrofula, sores and ulcers, red eyes; the fresh form cools lower energizer heat, can eliminate red dysentery, heat accumulation in the bladder, painful urinary blockages, large intestine constipation, bloody stool, fistula disease blood."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoct 3-10g. Use raw for clearing heat, stir-fried for calming the fetus, and scorched for stopping bleeding. Stir-fry with wine for clearing upper energizer heat.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

This product is bitter and cold, which may harm the stomach, and is not suitable for those with deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains Skullcap Root aglycone, Skullcap Root glycosides, Han Skullcap Root element, Han Skullcap Root glycosides, Skullcap Root new element, benzoic acid, β-sitosterol, etc.

1. The decoction of Skullcap Root has a broad antibacterial spectrum in vitro, inhibiting Bacillus cold-damage disease, Bacillus dysentery, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus whooping cough, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Diplococcus pneumoniae, and Diplococcus meningitis, among others.
2. It also inhibits influenza virus, Leptospira, and various pathogenic fungi.
3. Additionally, it has functions such as antipyretic, hypotensive, diuretic, sedative, cholagogic, hepatoprotective, reducing capillary permeability, and inhibiting intestinal peristalsis.
4. Skullcap Root glycosides and Skullcap Root glycosides have a relieving effect on the allergic contraction of isolated trachea in guinea pigs and allergic panting in whole animals, and have a synergistic effect with Ephedra alkaloids.
5. For severe constipation, it is often combined with Hemp Seed, Trichosanthis Fruit kernel, and other medicinal combinations.
6. Moreover, this product, when combined with Chrysanthemum Flower to make Jueming hypotensive tablets, has a certain therapeutic effect on hypertension. Cassia Seed decoction, syrup, and tablets are effective in treating hyperlipidemia.