The efficacy and effects of Scutellaria baicalensis

Scutellaria baicalensis (Huang Qin) has the effects of clearing heat and drying dampness, purging fire and detoxifying, stopping bleeding, and stabilizing pregnancy. Its specific actions are as follows: 1. **Clearing heat and drying dampness**: Scutellaria can be used for various conditions caused by damp-heat, such as febrile diseases due to damp-warmth with sweating, chest oppression, greasy tongue coating, damp-heat jaundice, damp-heat diarrhea, dysentery, abdominal pain, or damp-heat urinary disorders. 2. **Purging fire and detoxifying**: For diseases characterized by excessive lung fire, such as cough with yellow, viscous phlegm, high fever, or dizziness due to warm-heat conditions, Scutellaria exerts a fire-purging effect. Its detoxifying action is commonly used for sores, ulcers, and carbuncles, and it may be used alone or in combination with herbs like rhubarb (Da Huang) and white bryony root (Bai Lian). 3. **Stopping bleeding and stabilizing pregnancy**: Scutellaria is typically used to stabilize pregnancy in cases of excessive stomach heat during gestation, accompanied by vomiting and inability to eat. It is also indicated for conditions where excessive heat disturbs the fetus, leading to unstable fetal vitality, threatened miscarriage, or vaginal bleeding, including symptoms such as hematemesis, epistaxis, or menorrhagia.