ABSTRACT
Chromosomes at metaphase of the former were medium to large sized among the species of this genus observed, while those of the latter were small. In the Far East, dried roots of some species in Bupleurum have been used in the therapy of disease. In Japan, saiko has recently become very important for treating chronic diseases such as hepatitis, neurosis, and asthma that could not be remedied by Western medicines alone. Bupleurum scorzonerifolium and B. chinense had a common karyotype; that is, the same in number and morphology of their chromosomes, except for the number of chromosomes with a satellite. Bupleurum radixes from Japanese and Korean markets are mutually different in quality as well as in morphology. That is, the Japanese products are known to have good quality in clinical use, while the Korean have been reported to be higher in the total content of pharmacologically effective saikosaponins.
