Saikosaponins a and d roots concentration in five Bupleurum species from four mountains in China

Bupleurum species are widely distributed in China and its diversity is of a potential commercial incomes. In this study, five species of the genus Bupleurum were collected in four mountains in North China areas. The saikosaponins a and d (SSa and SSd) roots concentration were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the results revealed that B. smithii, B. sibiricum and B. scorzonerifolium might be of great interest because of their high SSd content in which the -OH of C-23 is involved in their bioactivity. This study, besides being helpful for medicine quality control, provides an insight of the importance saikosaponins. Especially, SSd might play in the discovery of new drugs against bacterial or viral diseases such as HIV.