Online Published:
In this study, saikosaponins were determined from roots of three Bupleurum plants collected in June 2009. Bupleuri Radix (Bupleurum spp. root) is one of the most important crude drugs in Korea, China and Japan. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the determination of saikosaponin ‘a’, ‘b’ and ‘c’ in three Bupleurum plants. The highest total saikosaponin content was found in the B. falcatum ‘Mishima’ (1281.94 mg%). Total saikosaponin contents of B. falcatum and B. latissimum were 669.67 and 489.95 mg%, respectively. B. falcatum ‘Mishima’ and B. falcatum contained more saikosaponin ‘a’ than other saikosaponins. The contents of saikosaponin ‘a’ of B. falcatum ‘Mishima’ and B. falcatum were 745.74 and 484.60 mg%, respectively. In contrast, B. latissimum, an endemic species of Korea had higher saikosaponin ‘c’ (351.90 mg%) content than the other two saikosaponins and the content was higher than B. falcatum (181.71 mg%). B. latissimum, a Korean endemic species, is a good source for extraction/production of saikosaponin ‘c’.
