Wogonin is an O-methylated flavone, a flavonoid-like chemical compound which is found in Scutellaria baicalensis.
The glycosides of wogonin are known as wogonosides. For example, oroxindin is a wogonin glucuronide isolated from Oroxylum indicum. It is one of the active ingredients of Sho-Saiko-To, a Japanese herbal supplement.
Wogonin has been found in one study to have anxiolytic properties in mice at doses of 7.5 to 30 mg/kg, without exhibiting the sedative and muscle-relaxing properties of benzodiazepines. Preliminary in vitro studies have shown pharmacological effects that indicate wogonin may have anti-tumor properties. Wogonin has also been found to possess anticonvulsant effects. It acts as a positive allosteric modulator of the benzodiazepine site of the GABA<sub>A</sub> receptor with a binding affinity of K<sub>i</sub> 0.92 üM and an IC<sub>50</sub> value of 1.26 üM which is about 100 times less potent than diazepam (IC<sub>50</sub> value of 0.012 üM). The of pure Wogonin in mice is 3.9 g/kg of body weight suggesting low toxicity.
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