Baicalin methyl ester

Baicalin methyl ester (BME, CAS No.: 82475-03-4) is an esterified derivative of baicalin isolated from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Its core therapeutic target is the P65 protein (binding via hydrogen bonds with a minimum binding energy of -2.65 kcal/mol), and it exerts biological effects by regulating the P65/TNF-α/MLCK/ZO-1 signaling pathway. There are no clear IC₅₀ data available; the effective in vitro concentration ranges from 10 to 40 μM (in MODE-K mouse intestinal epithelial cells), while a concentration of 160 μM significantly reduces cell viability. The in vivo therapeutic dose is 50~200 mg/kg/d administered orally to mice (divided into low, medium, and high doses). Its biological activities are mainly reflected in protecting against LPS-induced intestinal barrier damage: it inhibits the expression of pro-inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ), upregulates the level of the anti-inflammatory factor IL-4, reduces serum levels of DAO, DLA, and LPS, downregulates MLCK protein expression and the MLCK/ZO-1 ratio, and simultaneously increases the expression of tight junction proteins (ZO-1, occludin, claudin-1, claudin-4). Additionally, it repairs the intestinal mucosal structure, increases the number of goblet cells, and exhibits no significant multi-organ toxicity within the effective dose range.

References:

[1] Ishimaru K, Nishikawa K, Omoto T, Asai I, Yoshihira K, Shimomura K. Two flavone 2'-glucosides from Scutellaria baicalensis. Phytochemistry. 1995 Sep;40(1):279-81. doi: 10.1016/0031-9422(95)00200-q. PMID: 7546551.

[2] Liang M, Sun X, Guo M, Wu H, Zhao L, Zhang J, He J, Ma X, Yu Z, Yong Y, Gooneratne R, Ju X, Liu X. Baicalin methyl ester prevents the LPS - induced mice intestinal barrier damage in vivo and in vitro via P65/TNF-α/MLCK/ZO-1 signal pathway. Biomed Pharmacother. 2024 Nov;180:117417. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.117417. Epub 2024 Sep 18. PMID: 39298909.