Benefits
Memory task scores in older adults with memory complaints
In a 12-week placebo-controlled trial in 82 adults aged 60 to 85 who reported memory concerns, a standardized bark extract (500 mg twice daily) improved immediate word recall and numeric working memory more than placebo, and location learning was faster. Most other memory and speed tests, the MoCA screen and self-rated memory did not differ. It is a single trial, funded by the maker, and has not been repeated.
Short-term tolerability in older adults
Over 12 weeks at 1,000 mg a day, 10 adverse events were reported with the extract and 6 with placebo (83% and 87% of people reported none), and in the extract group they were mostly mild digestive complaints (loose stools, nausea, bloating) and headaches. No serious adverse events occurred, and one person stopped because of ongoing headaches. Safety beyond 12 weeks has not been studied in people.
Dopamine signaling in laboratory and rat studies
Oroxylin A, one of the plant's flavones, blocked dopamine uptake in a laboratory assay in a way similar to the stimulant drug methylphenidate, and changed attention and impulsivity behavior in a rat model. This was the isolated compound, not the whole extract, and the effect has not been measured in people.
Antioxidant defenses in animal studies
In mice given chemotherapy drugs, an extract added to food (250 or 500 mg/kg) limited the rise in reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxides in the brain and kept glutathione from falling. Diabetic rats given a bark extract also showed restored antioxidant status. None of this has been tested in people.
Blood sugar handling in animal studies
In diabetic rats, a bark extract (250 mg/kg by mouth) improved insulin sensitivity measures and glycated hemoglobin, and in prediabetic mice a seed extract strengthened the blood sugar effect of the drug acarbose. No published human study has measured blood sugar with Oroxylum indicum, and it is not a substitute for medical care.
Fat cell formation in laboratory studies
In a lab screen of six Ayurvedic plants, an Oroxylum indicum bark extract was the most active at reducing fat build-up in developing fat cells and blocking pancreatic lipase, the enzyme that digests dietary fat. In the memory trial, weight fell 1.1 kg with the extract and 0.13 kg with placebo, a difference that was not statistically significant.
Mechanism of action
A flavone-rich bark and seed
About 111 compounds have been identified in the plant, with flavonoids the main group. The key flavones are baicalein, chrysin and oroxylin A, plus glycosides such as oroxin A and oroxin B. The trial extract was a methanol extract of the bark standardized to 10% oroxylin A, 6% chrysin and 15% baicalein.
Dopamine transporter and GABA-A receptor (laboratory)
Oroxylin A has been described as a GABA-A receptor antagonist, and in a laboratory assay it inhibited dopamine uptake much like methylphenidate while leaving norepinephrine uptake unchanged. In rats, blocking dopamine receptors weakened its behavioral effect. These are isolated-compound findings, not human data.
Absorbed and heavily metabolized (rats)
After rats were given an oral extract, 47 metabolites were found in blood, bile, urine and feces. The glycosides oroxin A and oroxin B reached the highest blood levels (about 2,900 to 3,100 ng/mL), while baicalein, chrysin and oroxylin A peaked far lower (about 64 to 117 ng/mL).
Oxidative stress and mitochondrial enzymes (animal)
In mice given chemotherapy, the extract lowered brain reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxides, preserved glutathione and raised the activity of mitochondrial complexes I and IV. The authors proposed this as the basis of the memory effects they saw in mice; it has not been measured in people.
Clinical trials
Two-arm, parallel-group, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Western Australia of a standardized Oroxylum indicum bark extract (Sabroxy), funded by its maker, Sabinsa, whose founder was a co-author. (Lopresti et al. 2021, Front Aging Neurosci)
82 adults aged 60 to 85 with self-reported decline in memory or thinking and no dementia diagnosis, given 500 mg of extract (42) or placebo (40) twice daily for 12 weeks; 73 completed.
The extract group improved more on a combined episodic memory score (p = 0.015), immediate word recall (p = 0.018) and numeric working memory accuracy (p = 0.048), and learned object locations faster. Speed of performance, other memory tasks, the MoCA total score and self-rated memory and quality of life did not differ from placebo. BDNF rose in both groups alike. Weight fell 1.1 kg vs 0.13 kg (p = 0.058).
Phase I, double-blind, placebo-controlled single ascending dose, multiple dose and food-effect study of oroxylin A tablets, an investigational drug derived from Scutellaria baicalensis root, sponsored by a drug company tied to one of the authors. (Yang et al. 2026, Clin Transl Oncol)
Healthy Chinese volunteers given single doses of 400 to 2,400 mg or placebo, 1,600 or 2,400 mg once daily for 10 days, or a single 1,600 mg dose with and without food.
There was no dose-limiting toxicity, no serious adverse event and no death; digestive side effects were more common with repeated dosing than with single doses. Oroxylin A appeared in blood quickly, and a high-fat meal raised peak levels about 1.6-fold. This tested one isolated flavone at drug doses, not an Oroxylum indicum extract, and measured no health outcome.
Acute, subacute, subchronic and reproductive toxicity studies in rodents plus a bacterial reverse mutation test and a mouse bone marrow micronucleus test, carried out by researchers at Sami-Sabinsa Group and Sabinsa Corporation. (Majeed et al. 2025, Toxicol Mech Methods)
Rodents and bacterial test strains; no human participants.
No treatment-related findings were reported. The no-observed-adverse-effect level was 400 mg/kg body weight in the subacute, subchronic and reproductive and developmental studies, and the extract was not mutagenic in either test. These are animal safety data from the extract's maker and do not establish long-term safety in people.
Animal study of the standardized extract (Sabroxy) added to food, supported in part by Sabinsa, whose two scientists on the paper helped design the experiments and proofread it. (Pondugula et al. 2021, Nat Prod Commun)
Male C57BL/6J mice fed 500 mg/kg of extract daily for 4 weeks, compared with control mice fed plain food.
Liver tissue showed no significant changes, and blood ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin, albumin, globulin and total protein did not differ from controls. A short study in mice; it does not rule out rare liver reactions in people.
Animal study funded by Sabinsa, with two Sabinsa employees as co-authors, of the standardized extract added to food in mice receiving doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide. (Pondugula et al. 2021, PLoS One)
Male C57BL/6J mice, 10 per group, fed 250 or 500 mg/kg of extract daily for 4 weeks alongside weekly chemotherapy injections.
Extract-fed mice did better than chemotherapy-only mice on Y-maze, open-field, novel object recognition and water maze tests, and had lower brain reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxides, preserved glutathione and higher mitochondrial complex I and IV activity. These are mouse findings and do not show any effect in people having chemotherapy.