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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Scientists are investigating the possible medicinal properties [bbc.com] of Chinese skullcap [wikipedia.org] (Scutellaria baicalensi):

Scientists have unravelled one of the secrets of a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine. The Chinese skullcap - known as Huang-Qin - is traditionally used for fever, liver and lung problems. Scientists have discovered that the plant uses a special pathway to make chemicals with potential cancer-fighting properties. They say it is a step towards being able to scale up production to make new drugs.

Prof Cathie Martin, of the John Innes Centre in Norwich, is lead researcher of the study, published in Science Advances. Working in collaboration with Chinese scientists, her team deduced how the plant, Scutellaria baicalensi, synthesises the chemicals, known as flavones. Flavones are found widely in the plant kingdom, giving some plants vivid blue flowers.

"Understanding the pathway should help us to produce these special flavones in large quantities, which will enable further research into their potential medicinal uses," said Prof Martin. "It's exciting to consider that the plants which have been used as traditional Chinese remedies for thousands of years may lead to effective modern medicines."

A specialized flavone biosynthetic pathway has evolved in the medicinal plant, Scutellaria baicalensis [sciencemag.org] (open, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1501780)

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