Saikosaponin A

Saikosaponin A at a Glance

Saikosaponin A is the principal and most-studied oleanane triterpenoid saponin of Bupleurum root (chai hu), one of the central herbs of Chinese formula medicine.

It is best known for an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory signal through NF-kB suppression, with preclinical anticancer work involving VEGFR2 blockade alongside.

The Saikosaponin Trio, and Why It Matters Which One

Bupleurum root carries three principal saikosaponins — a, c and d — and they are close enough in structure to be treated as interchangeable and different enough in behaviour that treating them so is a mistake.

Saikosaponin A and saikosaponin D are epimers. They are the same molecule apart from the orientation of a single hydroxyl group at C-16 ^{1Reference 1Lu CN et al. · 2012In vitroSaikosaponin a and its epimer saikosaponin d exhibit anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing activation of the NF-κB signalling pathway — in vitroView study →}. That one difference does not stop them sharing the NF-κB anti-inflammatory mechanism — the paper that established it studied them together ^{1Reference 1Lu CN et al. · 2012In vitroSaikosaponin a and its epimer saikosaponin d exhibit anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing activation of the NF-κB signalling pathway — in vitroView study →} — but it accompanies a real divergence in what else they do, and in how dangerous they are. Saikosaponin C carries a different sugar chain and is the mild one.

	Saikosaponin A	Saikosaponin C	Saikosaponin D
Relationship	C-16 epimer of D	Different glycosylation	C-16 epimer of A
Angiogenesis	Suppresses (VEGFR2 blockade)	Promotes (MMP-2, VEGF, ERK)	—
Signature effect	Anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic	Anti-HBV via HNF1α/HNF4α	Antifibrotic and hepatotoxic
SERCA inhibition	Yes	No	Yes
Acid conversion product	Saikosaponin b1	—	Saikosaponin b2
Toxicity picture	Cardio- and hepatotoxicity contributor	The least cytotoxic sibling	Dose-dependent hepatotoxin

Two of those rows deserve to be read carefully.

The angiogenesis row is a straight contradiction. Saikosaponin A blocks VEGFR2-mediated signalling to suppress angiogenesis and tumour growth ^{2Reference 2Zhao X et al. · 2021Saikosaponin A, a triterpene saponin, suppresses angiogenesis and tumour growth by blocking the VEGFR2-mediated signalling pathwayView study →}; saikosaponin C does the opposite, inducing endothelial proliferation, migration and tube formation. A statement about “saikosaponins and angiogenesis” is therefore meaningless without naming the congener.

The acid row explains both the processing and the pharmacokinetics. Saikosaponins a and d each carry a strained 13,28-epoxy ether, and under mild acid it opens to a heteroannular diene: saikosaponin a converts completely to saikosaponin b1, and saikosaponin d to saikosaponin b2 ^{13Reference 13Li XQ et al. · 2005High-performance liquid chromatographic assay of saikosaponins from Radix Bupleuri in ChinaView study →}. The conversion is reliable enough that the standard HPLC assay for Radix Bupleuri deliberately runs it first and measures the b-series products instead ^{13Reference 13Li XQ et al. · 2005High-performance liquid chromatographic assay of saikosaponins from Radix Bupleuri in ChinaView study →}. What that means in practice is that an oral dose meets a stomach, and traditional vinegar processing of the root meets an acid — so the molecule described in a cell-culture paper is not necessarily the molecule that acts.

The safety story for saikosaponin A is largely saikosaponin D’s, and it is set out in full under saikosaponin D: a dose-dependent hepatotoxin that also sensitises the liver to other insults. What belongs specifically to saikosaponin A is SERCA inhibition — shared with saikosaponin D and absent from saikosaponin C — which is the activity implicated in the cardiotoxicity of Bupleurum preparations, and the reason traditional vinegar-frying, which lowers both a and d, demonstrably reduces that toxicity ^{9Reference 9Wang S et al. · 2017Content decline of the SERCA inhibitors saikosaponin A and D attenuates the cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of vinegar-baked Radix BupleuriView study →}.

What It's Used For

Saikosaponin A (SSa) is the principal and most-studied oleanane triterpenoid saponin of Bupleurum (chai hu) root — the marker congener of the trio it forms with saikosaponin C and saikosaponin D, and one of the pharmacologically central compounds in the genus ^{12Reference 12Ashour ML · 2011ReviewGenus Bupleurum: a review of its phytochemistry, pharmacology and modes of actionView study →}.

It is best known for an anti-inflammatory/immunomodulatory signal, with a substantial preclinical anticancer literature behind it. Bupleurum’s clinical use is always the whole herb or multi-herb formula (Xiao Chai Hu Tang / Sho-saiko-to), never the isolate.

Evidence by IndicationStrength of support · Beta

01Anti-inflammatory / immunomodulatoryShaky36%NF-κB suppression in macrophage/LPS models ^{1Reference 1Lu CN et al. · 2012In vitroSaikosaponin a and its epimer saikosaponin d exhibit anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing activation of the NF-κB signalling pathway — in vitroView study →}

02Anticancer / anti-angiogenicShaky32%VEGFR2 blockade + apoptosis + in-vivo HCC ^{2,3,5Reference 2Zhao X et al. · 2021Saikosaponin A, a triterpene saponin, suppresses angiogenesis and tumour growth by blocking the VEGFR2-mediated signalling pathwayView study →Reference 3Yang J et al. · 2026Saikosaponin A alleviates hepatocellular-carcinoma growth induced by chronic stress via regulating the tumour immune microenvironmentView study →Reference 5Cheng T et al. · 2021Antitumour effect of saikosaponin A on human neuroblastoma cellsView study →}

03Hepatoprotective (mixed)Shaky26%One CCl₄ rat model, against a class hepatotoxicity liability ^{6,9Reference 6Wu SJ et al. · 2008AnimalCurcumin or saikosaponin A improves hepatic antioxidant capacity and protects against CCl₄-induced liver injury in ratsView study →Reference 9Wang S et al. · 2017Content decline of the SERCA inhibitors saikosaponin A and D attenuates the cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of vinegar-baked Radix BupleuriView study →}

04Neuro / antidepressantShaky24%Two rodent mechanisms (TLR4/BDNF; neurogenesis) ^{7,8Reference 7Tan L et al. · 2025In vitroTLR4 as a therapeutic target: antidepressant mechanism of saikosaponin A in regulating the NF-κB/BDNF axis and mitigating oxidative stress and inflammation in vivo and in vitroView study →Reference 8Tong Y et al. · 2024AnimalSaikosaponin A activates Tet1/Dll3/Notch1 signalling and promotes hippocampal neurogenesis to improve depression-like behaviour in miceView study →}

Mechanisms

Pharmacokinetics

SSa is a large oleanane triterpenoid saponin with the expected class liabilities: poor passive membrane permeability, extensive gastric/gut-microbial hydrolysis, and low oral bioavailability. A validated UFLC-MS/MS study confirmed low oral bioavailability in rats ^{10Reference 10Sun Z et al. · 2025AnimalCharacterisation of the pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability of saikosaponin A in rats using a validated UFLC-MS/MS methodView study →}, and the broader literature notes gut biotransformation as a major fate ^{11Reference 11Yang Y et al. · 2025Research progress on the extraction, purification, biotransformation, pharmacological effects, toxicity, combined therapy and new dosage forms of saikosaponinsView study →}. The acid-catalysed rearrangement described above is the specific mechanism: saikosaponin a converts completely to saikosaponin b1 under mild acid, and that conversion is what the standard assay of Bupleuri Radix relies on ^{13Reference 13Li XQ et al. · 2005High-performance liquid chromatographic assay of saikosaponins from Radix Bupleuri in ChinaView study →} — so a swallowed dose is expected to reach the gut substantially as the diene rather than as the parent. The practical implication: the in-vitro anti-inflammatory and anticancer concentrations are unlikely to be reached from oral whole-herb intake, and the species reaching the tissue may not be the one that was tested. No human PK study of the isolate exists.

Clinical Trials

There are no human trials of isolated saikosaponin A. All Bupleurum clinical experience is with the whole herb or multi-herb formula (e.g. Xiao Chai Hu Tang / Sho-saiko-to), which cannot be attributed to this single saponin.

Last checked: September 2026.

Isolate vs. Plant Studies

Every saikosaponin A result is isolate work, and none of it is human. The NF-κB anti-inflammatory mechanism ^{1Reference 1Lu CN et al. · 2012In vitroSaikosaponin a and its epimer saikosaponin d exhibit anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing activation of the NF-κB signalling pathway — in vitroView study →}, the VEGFR2 blockade ^{2Reference 2Zhao X et al. · 2021Saikosaponin A, a triterpene saponin, suppresses angiogenesis and tumour growth by blocking the VEGFR2-mediated signalling pathwayView study →}, the hepatocellular-carcinoma and neuroblastoma work ^{3,4,5Reference 3Yang J et al. · 2026Saikosaponin A alleviates hepatocellular-carcinoma growth induced by chronic stress via regulating the tumour immune microenvironmentView study →Reference 4Zhang L et al. · 2026Emerging role of saikosaponin A in tumour therapy and tumour-microenvironment immunomodulationView study →Reference 5Cheng T et al. · 2021Antitumour effect of saikosaponin A on human neuroblastoma cellsView study →}, the CCl₄ hepatoprotection ^{6Reference 6Wu SJ et al. · 2008AnimalCurcumin or saikosaponin A improves hepatic antioxidant capacity and protects against CCl₄-induced liver injury in ratsView study →} and the antidepressant models ^{7,8Reference 7Tan L et al. · 2025In vitroTLR4 as a therapeutic target: antidepressant mechanism of saikosaponin A in regulating the NF-κB/BDNF axis and mitigating oxidative stress and inflammation in vivo and in vitroView study →Reference 8Tong Y et al. · 2024AnimalSaikosaponin A activates Tet1/Dll3/Notch1 signalling and promotes hippocampal neurogenesis to improve depression-like behaviour in miceView study →} all use purified saikosaponin A in cells or rodents.

Bupleurum’s clinical use, by contrast, is never the isolate and rarely even the single herb. It is chai hu inside a multi-herb formula — Xiao Chai Hu Tang, known in Japan as Sho-saiko-to — and the formula’s clinical record, including its adverse-event record, belongs to the formula ^{11,12Reference 11Yang Y et al. · 2025Research progress on the extraction, purification, biotransformation, pharmacological effects, toxicity, combined therapy and new dosage forms of saikosaponinsView study →Reference 12Ashour ML · 2011ReviewGenus Bupleurum: a review of its phytochemistry, pharmacology and modes of actionView study →}. The distance between the two is unusually large here: not just isolate-versus-extract, but a single molecule versus a seven-herb prescription in which chai hu is one component.

Three things widen the gap further:

• The concentrations do not meet. Saikosaponin A’s in-vitro effects run at micromolar concentrations that oral whole-herb intake is unlikely to reach ^{1,10Reference 1Lu CN et al. · 2012In vitroSaikosaponin a and its epimer saikosaponin d exhibit anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing activation of the NF-κB signalling pathway — in vitroView study →Reference 10Sun Z et al. · 2025AnimalCharacterisation of the pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability of saikosaponin A in rats using a validated UFLC-MS/MS methodView study →}.
• The molecule may not survive the trip. Acid converts saikosaponin a completely to saikosaponin b1 ^{13Reference 13Li XQ et al. · 2005High-performance liquid chromatographic assay of saikosaponins from Radix Bupleuri in ChinaView study →}, so what is absorbed after a decoction is partly a different compound from the one tested.
• Processing changes the input. Vinegar- or wine-frying the root, standard practice for some indications, deliberately lowers saikosaponin a and d content ^{9Reference 9Wang S et al. · 2017Content decline of the SERCA inhibitors saikosaponin A and D attenuates the cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of vinegar-baked Radix BupleuriView study →} — so the herb as prepared is not the herb as assayed.

The honest position is that saikosaponin A is a well-characterised research molecule and a quality marker for the root, and that the traditional use of chai hu is evidence for chai hu.

Its Role in Plants

Saikosaponins are the dominant secondary metabolites of Bupleurum root, and laser-microdissection mapping shows they are not spread evenly through it. Across Bupleurum scorzonerifolium, B. chinense and B. falcatum, the cork and cortex carry more types of saikosaponin and higher contents of a, c and d than the phloem and xylem — the outer tissues, not the conducting core ^{14Reference 14Liang Z et al. · 2014Cell type-specific qualitative and quantitative analysis of saikosaponins in three Bupleurum species using laser microdissection and liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometryView study →}. The pattern within those outer layers is species-specific: in B. scorzonerifolium and B. falcatum the cork holds more than the cortex, while in B. chinense the cortex holds more than the cork ^{14Reference 14Liang Z et al. · 2014Cell type-specific qualitative and quantitative analysis of saikosaponins in three Bupleurum species using laser microdissection and liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometryView study →}.

That distribution fits the ordinary role of a root saponin — a surfactant, membrane-active glycoside concentrated in the tissue that meets the soil, where it acts against fungi and soil organisms and deters underground herbivores. It also has a practical edge: peeling or trimming the outer root removes the tissue the actives are in, and it means the same species from different producers can differ chemically for purely morphological reasons ^{14Reference 14Liang Z et al. · 2014Cell type-specific qualitative and quantitative analysis of saikosaponins in three Bupleurum species using laser microdissection and liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometryView study →}.

Prevalence in Nature

Saikosaponin A is a Bupleurum molecule (Apiaceae) and does not occur in the diet. It is one of the three principal saikosaponins of chai hu root, and the class as a whole makes up a few percent of the dry root, varying widely with species, provenance and processing.

The species question is not cosmetic. Bupleurum chinense and Bupleurum scorzonerifolium are the two officially recognised sources of Chinese chai hu, B. falcatum is the Japanese saiko, and all three carry saikosaponins a, c and d in different proportions and different tissues ^{14Reference 14Liang Z et al. · 2014Cell type-specific qualitative and quantitative analysis of saikosaponins in three Bupleurum species using laser microdissection and liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometryView study →}. Content is then moved again by preparation: vinegar- or wine-frying deliberately lowers saikosaponin a and d, which is a safety step rather than an accident of cooking ^{9Reference 9Wang S et al. · 2017Content decline of the SERCA inhibitors saikosaponin A and D attenuates the cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of vinegar-baked Radix BupleuriView study →}.

Major Natural Sources

Source	Part	Saikosaponin A
Bupleurum falcatum (Japanese saiko)	Root — cork and cortex	Present; cork richer than cortex 14Reference 14Liang Z et al. · 2014Cell type-specific qualitative and quantitative analysis of saikosaponins in three Bupleurum species using laser microdissection and liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometryView study →
Bupleurum chinense (chai hu)	Root — cortex and cork	Present; cortex richer than cork 14Reference 14Liang Z et al. · 2014Cell type-specific qualitative and quantitative analysis of saikosaponins in three Bupleurum species using laser microdissection and liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometryView study →
Bupleurum scorzonerifolium (nan chai hu)	Root — cork and cortex	Present; cork richer than cortex 14Reference 14Liang Z et al. · 2014Cell type-specific qualitative and quantitative analysis of saikosaponins in three Bupleurum species using laser microdissection and liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometryView study →
Bupleurum root, phloem and xylem	Root — inner tissues	Lower, and fewer saikosaponin types 14Reference 14Liang Z et al. · 2014Cell type-specific qualitative and quantitative analysis of saikosaponins in three Bupleurum species using laser microdissection and liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometryView study →
Vinegar- or wine-fried root	Processed root	Deliberately reduced, as a safety step 9Reference 9Wang S et al. · 2017Content decline of the SERCA inhibitors saikosaponin A and D attenuates the cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of vinegar-baked Radix BupleuriView study →

Discovery & Synthesis

The saikosaponins were worked out in Japan in the 1960s, and their name records the herb rather than the chemistry: saiko (柴胡) is the Japanese name for Bupleurum root, and the aglycones were correspondingly called saikogenins. The structure of saikogenin A was established in 1966 by Shoji Shibata, Isao Kitagawa and Haruhiro Fujimoto, in part XV of the Chemical Studies on Oriental Plant Drugs series ^{15Reference 15Shibata S et al. · 1966The chemical studies on oriental plant drugsView study →} — the same Tokyo group and the same series that produced the ginsenoside and astragaloside chemistry. The b-series saponins were characterised separately by Shimaoka, Seo and Minato in 1975 ^{16Reference 16Shimaoka A et al. · 1975Saponins isolated from Bupleurum falcatum L.; components of saikosaponin bView study →}, which mattered more than it looked: those are the acid-rearrangement products, and identifying them is what made a reliable assay for saikosaponins a and d possible ^{13Reference 13Li XQ et al. · 2005High-performance liquid chromatographic assay of saikosaponins from Radix Bupleuri in ChinaView study →}. Pharmacology followed quickly — the first report of saikosaponin D protecting rat liver against carbon tetrachloride dates to 1982 ^{17Reference 17Abe H et al. · 1982AnimalProtective effect of saikosaponin-d isolated from Bupleurum falcatum L. on CCl4-induced liver injury in the rat — animal modelView study →}.

There is no total synthesis of saikosaponin A in use. It is an oleanane triterpene bearing a strained 13,28-epoxy ether and a disaccharide, and the ether is labile enough that acid alone rearranges it — which makes synthetic handling awkward and extraction the obvious route. Commercial saikosaponin A is isolated from Bupleurum root by solvent extraction and chromatography, and the same acid lability that complicates the chemistry is exploited analytically, by converting it to saikosaponin b1 before measurement ^{13Reference 13Li XQ et al. · 2005High-performance liquid chromatographic assay of saikosaponins from Radix Bupleuri in ChinaView study →}.

Patents: not yet researched (future patent-loop pass).

Toxicity & Safety

Saikosaponin A is the toxic half of the saikosaponin trio — a SERCA inhibitor directly implicated in the documented cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of Bupleurum preparations. Traditional vinegar-frying of the root lowers its content precisely because doing so demonstrably reduces that toxicity.

Safety at a Glance

⚠️ Moderate toxicityLiver riskCardiac caution

• SERCA inhibition drives real organ toxicity. Implicated in the cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of Bupleurum preparations.
• Hepatotoxic at higher doses. And it travels with saikosaponin D, a dose-dependent hepatotoxin.
• Avoid in pregnancy. Phytoestrogenic with no reproductive-safety data.
• Phytoestrogenic activity. An endocrine caution rather than a benefit.
• Formula-level reports. Bupleurum formulas such as Sho-saiko-to carry interstitial-pneumonia and hepatotoxicity reports.
• Saponins are hemolytic at high concentration. A generic class property.

Full Safety & Interactions Detail

The molecule-specific hazard is SERCA (sarco/endoplasmic-reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase) inhibition, which saikosaponin A shares with saikosaponin D and which the mild saikosaponin C does not have. That activity is directly implicated in the cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of Bupleurum preparations, and traditional vinegar or wine frying, which lowers the content of both a and d, demonstrably attenuates that toxicity ^{9Reference 9Wang S et al. · 2017Content decline of the SERCA inhibitors saikosaponin A and D attenuates the cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of vinegar-baked Radix BupleuriView study →}.

SSa is also phytoestrogenic and hepatotoxic at higher doses.

The hepatotoxicity story is set out in full on saikosaponin D — the dose-dependent hepatocyte apoptosis, the sabotage of protective autophagy, and the antifibrotic-versus-hepatotoxic paradox — and it applies to preparations containing either epimer, since they occur together and are lowered together. On top of that, Bupleurum-containing formulas (Sho-saiko-to) carry well-known interstitial-pneumonia and hepatotoxicity reports at the formula level ^{9,11Reference 9Wang S et al. · 2017Content decline of the SERCA inhibitors saikosaponin A and D attenuates the cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of vinegar-baked Radix BupleuriView study →Reference 11Yang Y et al. · 2025Research progress on the extraction, purification, biotransformation, pharmacological effects, toxicity, combined therapy and new dosage forms of saikosaponinsView study →}, and saponins are inherently haemolytic at high concentration. Saikosaponin A therefore sits with saikosaponin D at the more cautious end of the trio, clearly above saikosaponin C.

Dosage

There is no established or safe human dose — saikosaponin A has never been dosed as an isolate in humans, and all figures in the literature are in-vitro (µM) or animal research concentrations, not recommendations. Any real-world exposure is only as a minor fraction of whole chai hu root/formula, whose saikosaponin content (and SSa share) varies with species, provenance and processing.

References

1. Lu CN, Yuan ZG, Zhang XL, et al. (2012). Saikosaponin a and its epimer saikosaponin d exhibit anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing activation of the NF-κB signalling pathway — in vitro. International Immunopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22728095/
2. Zhao X, et al. (2021). Saikosaponin A, a triterpene saponin, suppresses angiogenesis and tumour growth by blocking the VEGFR2-mediated signalling pathway. Frontiers in Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34776948/
3. Yang J, Jiang W, et al. (2026). Saikosaponin A alleviates hepatocellular-carcinoma growth induced by chronic stress via regulating the tumour immune microenvironment. Journal of Inflammation Research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42211233/
4. Zhang L, Wang C, Zhang X, et al. (2026). Emerging role of saikosaponin A in tumour therapy and tumour-microenvironment immunomodulation. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41548542/
5. Cheng T, Ying M, et al. (2021). Antitumour effect of saikosaponin A on human neuroblastoma cells. BioMed Research International. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34513994/
6. Wu SJ, et al. (2008). Curcumin or saikosaponin A improves hepatic antioxidant capacity and protects against CCl₄-induced liver injury in rats. Journal of Medicinal Food. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18598162/
7. Tan L, Li J, Sun D, et al. (2025). TLR4 as a therapeutic target: antidepressant mechanism of saikosaponin A in regulating the NF-κB/BDNF axis and mitigating oxidative stress and inflammation in vivo and in vitro. Frontiers in Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40453654/
8. Tong Y, Zhao G, Shuang R, et al. (2024). Saikosaponin A activates Tet1/Dll3/Notch1 signalling and promotes hippocampal neurogenesis to improve depression-like behaviour in mice. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37844745/
9. Wang S, Zhang Y, Zhang Q, et al. (2017). Content decline of the SERCA inhibitors saikosaponin A and D attenuates the cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of vinegar-baked Radix Bupleuri. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28412648/
10. Sun Z, Qiu C, An Y, et al. (2025). Characterisation of the pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability of saikosaponin A in rats using a validated UFLC-MS/MS method. Biomedical Chromatography. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40930751/
11. Yang Y, Chen H, Sun J, et al. (2025). Research progress on the extraction, purification, biotransformation, pharmacological effects, toxicity, combined therapy and new dosage forms of saikosaponins. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40639699/
12. Ashour ML, Wink M (2011). Genus Bupleurum: a review of its phytochemistry, pharmacology and modes of action. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21749378/
13. Li XQ, Gao QT, Chen XH, et al. (2005). High-performance liquid chromatographic assay of saikosaponins from Radix Bupleuri in China. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16141550/
14. Liang Z, Oh K, Wang Y, et al. (2014). Cell type-specific qualitative and quantitative analysis of saikosaponins in three Bupleurum species using laser microdissection and liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24863374/
15. Shibata S, Kitagawa I, Fujimoto H (1966). The chemical studies on oriental plant drugs. XV. On the constituents of Bupleurum spp. (2). The structure of saikogenin A, a sapogenin of Bupleurum falcatum L. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1248/cpb.14.1023
16. Shimaoka A, Seo S, Minato H (1975). Saponins isolated from Bupleurum falcatum L.; components of saikosaponin b. Journal of the Chemical Society, Perkin Transactions 1. https://doi.org/10.1039/p19750002043
17. Abe H, Sakaguchi M, Odashima S, et al. (1982). Protective effect of saikosaponin-d isolated from Bupleurum falcatum L. on CCl4-induced liver injury in the rat — animal model. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00510139

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