REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
This article is part of the Research TopicEthnopharmacology, Omics, and Epigenetic Modulation: Modern Approaches to Harnessing Medicinal Plants for Neurodegenerative Disease TherapyView all 4 articles
Multi-Target Intervention Mechanisms and Prospects of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi in Alzheimer's Disease
Provisionally accepted
MingHao Zhao1,2
Miao Zhang2*
SiQi Zhang1,2
GuoCheng Xue1,2XuanTong Hou1,2HuiHui Wang1,2YuBo Yang1,2XinYu Yan1,2- 1Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
- 2Acupuncture and Moxibustion 10 Departments, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China, harbin, China
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent central nervous system disorders affecting middle-aged and elderly populations. As a neurodegenerative disease, its primary clinical manifestations include memory impairment, cognitive dysfunction, and behavioral abnormalities. However, there are limited clinically available treatments for AD. Existing medications neither cure the disease nor halt its progression,and are often associated with significant side effects. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, with its long history of medicinal use, shows potential for treating central nervous system disorders. Modern pharmacological research has revealed its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, neuroprotective, and immunomodulatory properties. Its active metabolites, such as baicalin and baicalein, exert multi-target effects by simultaneously influencing Aβ production and aggregation, tau phosphorylation, and microglial activation, while also regulating brain-gut axis function. This systematic review examines the mechanisms of action of baicalin and baicalein, the active metabolites of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, in treating Alzheimer's disease, offering novel insights and research directions for modern medical approaches to Alzheimer's disease treatment.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, anti-inflammatory, Baicalein, Baicalin, brain-gut axis, Cell Death, Neuroprotection, Traditional Chinese Medicine
Received: 17 Sep 2025; Accepted: 14 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Zhao, Zhang, Zhang, Xue, Hou, Wang, Yang and Yan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Miao Zhang
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