Abstract
We measured and studied the growth parameters and the qualitative and quantitative composition of the flavones of hairy roots of the Scutellaria genus: S. lateriflora, S. przewalskii and S. pycnoclada. Hairy roots were obtained using wild-type Agrobacterium rhizogenes A4 by co-cultivation of explants (cotyledons) in a suspension of Agrobacterium. The presence of the rol-genes was confirmed by PCR analysis. The hairy roots of the most studied plant from the Scutellaria genus, S. baicalensis, were obtained earlier and used as a reference sample. HPLC-MS showed the predominance of four main flavones (baicalin, baicalein, wogonin and wogonoside) in the methanol extracts of the studied hairy roots. In addition to the four main flavones, the other substances which are typical to the aerial part of plants were found in all the extracts: apigenin, apigetrin, scutellarin and chrysin-7-O-β-d-glucuronide. According to the total content of flavones, the hairy roots of the studied skullcaps form the following series: S. przewalskii (33 mg/g dry weight) > S. baicalensis (17.04 mg/g dry weight) > S. pycnoclada (12.9 mg/g dry weight) > S. lateriflora (4.57 mg/g dry weight). Therefore, the most promising producer of anti-coronavirus flavones is S. przewalskii.
Highlights
The search for, and creation of, new medicines based on raw plant materials has attracted the attention of researchers for a long time
Wogonin and wogonoside are widely known as antitumor agents, but wogonin has been shown to have an antiviral effect by binding to the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 [13]
The hairy roots of S. lateriflora, S. przewalskii and S. pycnoclada were obtained for this study
Summary
The search for, and creation of, new medicines based on raw plant materials has attracted the attention of researchers for a long time. These drugs have a wide spectrum of biological action, which makes it possible to use them for the prevention and treatment of various diseases, including coronaviral ones [1,2,3,4]. It is already known that baicalin significantly reduces the oxidative damage to cells, which is induced by the Ang II receptor, and baicalin activates the ACE2Ang-(1–7) Mas pathway [4]. Plants of the genus Scutellaria produce other valuable flavones with proven anti-coronavirus activity—baicalein, wogonin and wogonoside. Wogonin and wogonoside are widely known as antitumor agents, but wogonin has been shown to have an antiviral effect by binding to the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 [13]
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