Flavonoids and phenylethanoids from hairy root cultures of Scutellaria baicalensis

We successfully established hairy root cultures of Scutellaria baicalensis by direct inoculation on sterile seedlings with Agrobacterium rhizogenes pRil5834 harbouring pBI121. Transformation was proved by direct detection of the inserted T-DNA by the polymerase chain reaction. To determine the optimal medium for growth of hairy roots, the effects of five basal media were investigated; growth was best in B5 liquid medium. A new flavone glucoside, 5,7,2',6'-tetrahydroxyflavone 2'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside 15 known flavonoids and five known phenylethanoids were isolated from the hairy root cultures of S. baicalensis for the first time. Their structures were elucidated by various spectroscopic methods. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd