Skullcap, a traditional medicinal herb that has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine and Native American remedies, has recently gained attention in modern medicine due to the discovery of its potential anti-cancer properties.
A collaboration of UK and Chinese researchers has unlocked the evolutionary secrets that allow the medicinal herb known as barbed skullcap to produce cancer-fighting compounds.
The CEPAMS collaboration assembled the genomic sequence of skullcap (Scutellaria barbata), also known as banzhilian in China, using DNA sequencing technology. This provided researchers with the genetic information – a microevolutionary history – needed to determine how the plant produces the compound scutebarbatine A, which has anticancer properties.
We discovered that the primary metabolite has anti-cancer activity but not anti-non-cancer activity, which is especially important for an anti-cancer metabolite. We are now working on developing synthetic methods for producing more lead compound.
Professor Cathie Martin
According to Professor Cathie Martin, Group Leader at the John Innes Centre and one of the study’s authors, “We discovered that the primary metabolite has anti-cancer activity but not anti-non-cancer activity, which is especially important for an anti-cancer metabolite. We are now working on developing synthetic methods for producing more lead compound.”
To isolate medicinal chemistry from the plant in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the herb is boiled in water for two hours, and the extract is dried to produce a powder that is then taken as a decoction (concentrated liquid). With the knowledge of the genes that comprise the biochemical pathway underlying the herb’s anti-cancer activity, researchers are on the verge of being able to synthesize larger quantities of compounds more quickly and sustainably by using a host such as yeast.
The research which appears in the journal Molecular Plant is led by CEPAMS, a partnership between the John Innes Centre and the Chinese Academy of Science and supported by The Royal Society.
“This is a fantastic collaboration about developing interesting drug leads from natural resources, and it demonstrates the practical value of focusing on a species’ microevolution,” Professor Martin said.
For centuries, the Skullcap genus has been used in TCM to treat a variety of medical conditions. Clinical trials have shown that using Scutellaria barbata preparations during chemotherapy can reduce the risk of metastatic tumors.
Dr Evangelos Tatsis, CEPAMS Group Leader based in Shanghai, stated, “Natural products have long been the starting point for the development of new drugs. We can develop new anti-cancer medicines by following the trail of traditional Chinese plants, and this study is an important step in that direction.”
Traditional plant medicines have long been used to provide leads for new drug discovery, and plant natural products such as vinblastine and taxol are used clinically as anticancer drugs. TCM is one of the most well-documented systems of empirical data on the therapeutic properties of herbal remedies.
