Skullcap Versus Germander, Study

BELTSVILLE, Md.—According to a study published in Phytochemical Analysis, Scutellaria lateriflora, commonly known as skullcap, is used as an ingredient in numerous herbal products (DOI:10.1002/pca.1127), but unfortunately, it has occasionally been adulterated with Teucrium canadense or T. chamaedrys, commonly known as germander, which contains potentially hepatotoxic diterpenes. Researchers extracted samples with aqueous methanol and the extracts were analyzed using a standardized LC-DADESI/MS profiling method to obtain their phenolic profiles. Skullcap contained primarily flavonoids, while the major phenolic components of the two Teucrium species were the phenylethanoids, verbascoside and teucrioside. Using the phenylethanoids as markers, it was possible to clearly distinguish between the two genus and to determine 5 percent Teucrium mixed with Scutellaria using either ultraviolet absorption spectrometry or mass spectrometry in the total ion count mode. Using MS in the selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode, 1 percent Teucrium could be measured. This study showed chromatographic profiling was able to identify Scutellaria and Teucrium, separately and when mixed together.