Polyphenolic Metabolites of Scutellaria Lateriflora Hairy Root Culture

Scutellaria lateriflora, commonly known as American skullcap, has a long history of use in Western traditional herbal medicine for treating insomnia, anxiety, hysteria, and nervous tension. However, the complete metabolite profile of S. lateriflora extracts has not been fully characterized due to the complexity of metabolite identification. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) provides an effective approach for the non-targeted analysis of polyphenolic compounds in plant extracts. The aim of this study was to characterize the polyphenolic profile of hairy root cultures of S. lateriflora using a comprehensive analytical methodology. The metabolome of the hairy root culture was found to be rich in two major classes of bioactive compounds: phenylethanoids (e.g., verbascoside and its derivatives) and flavonoids (e.g., wogonin, ۶-OMe-wogonin, and their glucuronides). While the hairy roots produced a similar set of metabolites to those of intact plant roots, quantitative differences were observed, particularly in the enhanced production of phenylethanoids by the hairy root culture. Notably, wogonin and its derivatives were among the most efficiently synthesized flavones. These findings suggest that hairy root cultures of S. lateriflora can serve as a promising biotechnological platform for the targeted production of valuable polyphenolic compounds with potential pharmacological applications.

Keywords:

Scutellaria lateriflora , Hairy root culture , Wogonin , ۶-ОМе-wogonin , Verbascoside , HPLC-MS/MS