Baicalein isolated from acts as a potent µ- and κ-opioid receptor antagonist agent via the reversal of agonist-mediated cAMP inhibition.

The opioid receptors play a pivotal role in the treatment of several neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. (L.) Kurtz is a very important medicinal plant with several therapeutic applications. It is a main constituent of the Ayurvedic formulation 'Dashmool' used for multifaceted disorders by the Indians. However, the constituents of this plant in neurological conditions have not been well studied. Here, we performed activity-guided isolation of compounds for opioid receptor modulator activity. In the study, we found that the isolated compound baicalein () has shown the most potent and competitive antagonistic activity at 20 mg/kg dose experiments. The acute dose of (20 mg/kg) and pan opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (20 mg/kg) block the morphine-induced antinociception and the paw withdrawal latency decreases up to 8.3 s and 9.6 s, respectively. The studies also support our data that compound binds with MOR and KOR.