ABSTRACT
Baicalin, a flavonoid with a structure analogous to genistein, is found in
Scutellaria
species used widely in Chinese herbal medicine. It has a glucuronate group at the C-7 position, which is absent in its aglycone, baicalein. Baicalein and baicalin both appear to have antiviral (Kitamura et al. 1998), antioxidant (Shi et al.,
1995), antitumor (Matsuzaki et al.,
1996), and anti-inflammatory (Lin and Shieh, 1996) properties, as well as an ability to reduce blood pressure and relax arterial smooth-muscle cells (Chen et al.,
1999). The antitumor effects of baicalin on human hepatoma cell lines was also reported by Motoo and Sabatu
(1994). Po and coworkers (2002) showed baicalin, unlike genistein, suppressed 17
β
-estradiol-induced transactivation in MFC7 cells expressing receptor
α
. Baicalin also proved to be a stronger apoptosis-inducing agent, making it a superior chemopreventive agent. Chan and coworkers (2000) reported baicalin induced apoptosis in several human prostate-cancer cell lines so that it had the potential to be a chemopreventive agent or an adjuvant for the treatment of prostate cancers.
