Evaluation of the antioxidant activity of scutellaria baicalensis and its constituents in diabetic rats

Abstract

Scutellaria baicalensis is a commonly used herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat diabetes and its complications owing to its potent antioxidant and radical scavenging activities. Many of the diabetic micro- and macrovascular complications are known to arise due to free radical-induced oxidative stress and reduced intrinsic antioxidant defenses. Thus, the preliminary research work involved the characterization of antioxidant mechanisms of Scutellaria baicalensis in type 1 diabetic Wistar rat models. Its bioactive flavonoid compounds were screened for radical scavenging potential in an in vitro cell culture model of hyperglycemia. Thereby, baicalin was identified as the primary bioactive compound in the herbal extract. The antioxidant potential of baicalin was further characterized in the STZ-induced diabetic Wistar rat model. The results obtained from this study confirmed baicalin as the primary bioactive compound in Scutellaria baicalensis in comparing and contrasting the data with the preliminary in vivo study. It was observed that baicalin increased the antioxidant enzyme expression as well as reduced the oxidative damage to the intracellular mitochondria. The antioxidant effects of baicalin were also investigated in the type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rat model. The mechanisms of action were similar to both animal models. In summary, the identification of baicalin as a potential complementary therapeutic agent for diabetes to improve the anti-oxidant status and reduce oxidative stress was the key discovery in this research work.