ABSTRACT
The Bupleurum is a genus of family Umbelliferae (Apiaceae), comprising about 200 species and primarily located in the Northern Hemisphere, Eurasia, and North Africa. Under the name of Chaihu (Saiko in Japanese and Shiho in Korean), the roots of several species from the genus have been frequently used in the prescriptions of Oriental traditional medicine for the treatment of common cold with fever, influenza, inflammation, hepatitis, malaria, and also menopausal syndrome in China for 2000 years. The requirement of Bupleurum radix for prescriptions and exports is about 8 million kg every year in China. Prescriptions and their clinical applications, including Chaihu Oral Liquid and Chaihu Injection, are used for the treatment of influenza and common cold in China. Xiao-Chaihu-Tang, an extract made from Bupleurum root, Pinellia tuber, Scutellaria root, jujube fruit, ginseng root, Glycyrrhiza root, and ginger rhizome, is widely used for the treatment of chronic disease, such as hepatitis, asthma, nephrotic syndrome, and cancer.
