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Botanical illustration of Skullcap
MedicinalSourced entry

Skullcap

Scutellaria lateriflora

A North American mint-family herb, taken as a tea or extract for anxiety, stress and sleep. It has been linked to rare cases of liver injury, often in mixed products.

What is Skullcap?

Plant family
Lamiaceae, the mint family
Parts used
The dried leaves and stems, as a tea or extract. The Cherokee used the root.
Where it grows
North America
Genus
Scutellaria
Species
lateriflora

Also called

American Skullcap, Blue Skullcap, Scullcap

Traditionally used for

  • Anxiety
  • Stress
  • Sleep
  • Period problems (traditional)

Traditionally described as

  • May lift mood (one small study)

Health topics

Where Skullcap appears in symptom search, and why. Being listed doesn't mean it's a proven treatment.

  • Anxiety

    Traditionally used for anxiety. In one small study of healthy adults it improved overall mood, but anxiety scores weren't clearly better than a dummy pill.

  • Sleep Problems (Insomnia)

    Traditionally taken as a tea or extract for trouble sleeping.

  • Stress

    Traditionally taken as a tea or extract for stress.

Traditions that use it

  • Native American Ethnobotany

    Used for centuries by Native Americans, including the Cherokee, for period problems, nerves, digestion and kidney problems.

  • Western Herbalism

    Used today as a tea or extract for anxiety, stress and sleep problems.

Safety

Toxicity testing

  • Skullcap has been linked to rare cases of liver injury. In most cases people were taking several herbs at once, so skullcap's role was unclear.

    Some products sold as skullcap were found to be mislabeled or mixed with germander, an herb that damages the liver.[1]

What does the research say?

Traditional use

These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.

  • Native Americans have used skullcap for centuries for period problems, nervousness, and digestive and kidney problems. Today its dried leaves and stems are taken as a tea or extract for anxiety, stress and trouble sleeping.[1]

  • The Cherokee used skullcap root:

    • As a tea for periods and diarrhea
    • Boiled, to help expel the afterbirth after childbirth
    • For breast pain and for "nerves"
    [2]

Research in people

  • In one study, 43 healthy adults took freeze-dried skullcap (350 mg, 3 times a day) and a dummy pill for 2 weeks each, in random order. Anxiety scores were not clearly different between skullcap and the dummy pill.

    Overall mood improved while people took skullcap but not while they took the dummy pill. Most people weren't anxious to begin with, which limits the findings. Skullcap didn't reduce energy or thinking ability.[3]

    Technical detail: double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover; Beck Anxiety Inventory p = 0.191; Profile of Mood States total mood disturbance fell from baseline with skullcap (p < 0.001) but not placebo (p = 0.072); carryover effect noted.

In short

Rare liver injury has been reported; some products were mixed with germander, which harms the liver.

Sources

  1. [1] LiverTox: Skullcap — National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH)Government health agency
  2. [2] The Phytochemistry of Cherokee Aromatic Medicinal Plants · DOI: 10.3390/medicines5040121Peer-reviewed study
  3. [3] American Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora): a randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study of its effects on mood in healthy volunteers · DOI: 10.1002/ptr.5044Peer-reviewed study

This information is educational and traditional in nature, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.