ImagecopyrightQing Zhao, Chinese Academy ofSciencesImage captionTheChinese skullcap, Scutellaria baicalensi

Scientists have unravelled one of the secrets of a plant used intraditional Chinese medicine.

The Chinese skullcap - known as Huang-Qin - is traditionally usedfor fever, liver and lung problems.

Scientists have discovered that the plant uses a special pathway tomake chemicals with potential cancer-fighting properties.

They say it is a step towards being able to scale up production tomake new drugs.

Prof Cathie Martin, of the John Innes Centre in Norwich, is leadresearcher of the study, published in Science Advances.

Working in collaboration with Chinese scientists, her team deducedhow the plant,Scutellariabaicalensi, synthesises the chemicals, knownas flavones.

Flavones are found widely in the plant kingdom, giving some plantsvivid blue flowers.

ImagecopyrightQing Zhao, Chinese Academy ofSciencesImage captionTheroot is thought to have anti-viral properties

"Understanding the pathway should help us to produce these specialflavones in large quantities, which will enable further researchinto their potential medicinal uses," said Prof Martin.

"It's exciting to consider that the plants which have been used astraditional Chinese remedies for thousands of years may lead toeffective modern medicines."

Ancient remedy

Previous lab research suggests that flavones have anti-cancerproperties, offering hope that they may one day lead to effectivecancer treatments.

Commenting on the study, Dr Alan Worsley of Cancer Research UK,said: "This paper answers a very interesting biological questionabout how these plants are able to make particular molecules, butthe study doesn't look at whether the molecules can be used totreat cancer.

"Instead it looks at how this compound is made in nature, which mayallow scientists to make more of it in the lab and be able toresearch its potential uses."

This herb is a member of the mint family and native to China.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the root was used in combinationwith other plants to treat fever and other ailments.

There is increasing scientific interest in ancient medicinalplants.

In 2015, Tu Youyou was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for herwork on artemisinin, an antimalarial drug derived from the sweetwormwood plant, Artemisiaannua.

Ancientremedy helps China win Nobel Prize

The fever-reducing properties of the plant were first recognised inthe 4th Century by Chinese physicians.

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