Comprehensive Analysis Reveals the Difference in Volatile Oil between _Bupleurum marginatum_ var. _stenophyllum_ ([PERSON]) Shan et Y. Li and the Other Four Medicinal _Bupleurum_ Species  
Yuzhi [PERSON]  
1 Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Resources Utilization of Chinese Herbal Medicine, Ministry of Education and National Engineering Laboratory for Breeding of Endangered Medicinal Materials, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China 11 Key Laboratory of Resources Conservation and Development of Southern Medicine, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Haikou 570311, China 1  
producing areas are regarded as the most important source of high-quality medicinal materials [4]. It has been shown that the genuine producing area of _B. chinense_ DC. is the Shaanxi Province of China [5; 6]. _B. scorzonerifolium_ [PERSON] was once widely distributed in the Central, Southern, and Northern China, but after changes in--and the contraction of--the producing areas, it is currently mainly concentrated in Heilongjiang Province of China [7; 8]. The genuine producing area and the local standards inclusion area of _B. smithii_ [PERSON] is Northwest China, and currently, Shanxi Province is one of its best and largest producing areas [1]. _B. marginatum_ Wall. Ex DC. is mainly distributed in the southwest and central parts of China; its genuine producing areas and the local standards inclusion areas mainly include the Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan Provinces of China [9; 10]. _B. marginatum_ var. _stenophyllum_ ([PERSON]) Shan et Y. Li is a variety of _B. marginatum_ Wall. ex DC. Although it is illegal to use it as Bupleuri Radix, _B. marginatum_ var. _stenophyllum_ has been widely cultivated in Gansu Province, China, because of its extremely high level of saikosaponins as compared with other _Bupleurum_ species/varieties [11; 12]. Some studies have shown that the main chemical components of _B. marginatum_ var. _stenophyllum_ include saikosaponins, volatile oils, flavonoids, etc. In a recent study, there was no significant difference observed in the levels of the predominant flavonoids such as quercetin, isorham-netin, and kaempfer between _B. marginatum_ var. _stenophyllum_ and _B. chinense_ DC. or _B. scorzonerifolium_ [PERSON] [13]. However, the research on the volatile oil of _B. marginatum_ var. _stenophyllum_ is still limited, with only a few volatile components identified in its seeds through GC-MS, including D (+)-carvone, dipentene, oxidized carophyllene, undecane, 3-isopropenyl-5,5-dimethyl-cyclopentene, heptaldehyde, and 3-carene [14]. The _Chinese Pharmacopoeia_ stipulates that Bupleuri Radix can be identified via thin-layer chromatography with saikosaponin A and D as indicators. However, almost all _Bupleurum_ contains saikosaponin A and D, especially _B. marginatum_ var. _stenophyllum_. Because of its high content of saikosaponins, some merchants have substituted the two _Bupleurum_ species in the _Chinese Pharmacopoeia_ with _B. marginatum_ var. _stenophyllum_ in the market. Nonetheless, owing to the limited research on the chemical composition and pharmacological effects of _B. marginatum_ var. _stenophyllum_, there remains insufficient evidence to determine whether _B. marginatum_ var. _stenophyllum_ is similar in composition and efficacy to other legitimate _Bupleurum_ species and if it can be regarded as an alternative resource of the two species which were officially recognized by the _Chinese Pharmacopoeia_. It is well known that the volatile oil of certain aromatic medicinal plants, including _Ligustum siense \"Chuanxiong\"_ and _Chrysanthemum \(\times\) morifolium_ (Ramat.) [PERSON], possess an antipyretic effect [15; 16]. The _Bupleurum_ species, originating from the _Apiaceae_ family, also belongs to the domain aromatic plants.