title: Autophagic effects of Chaihu (dried roots of Bupleurum Chinense DC or Bupleurum scorzoneraefolium WILD).
abstract: Chaihu, prepared from the dried roots of Bupleurum Chinense DC (also known as bei Chaihu in Chinese) or Bupleurum scorzoneraefolium WILD (also known as nan Chaihu in Chinese), is a herbal medicine for harmonizing and soothing gan (liver) qi stagnation. Substantial pharmacological studies have been conducted on Chaihu and its active components (saikosaponins). One of the active components of Chaihu, saikosaponin-d, exhibited anticancer effects via autophagy induction. This article reviews the pharmacological findings for the roles of autophagy in the pharmacological actions of Chaihu and saikosaponins.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China.
authors.forename: Betty Yuen-Kwan
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Law
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Jing-Fang
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China.
authors.forename: Vincent Kam-Wai
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Wong
keywords: Autophagy; Chaihu; Chinese Medicine; qi; saikosaponin