The fatty acid composition of five endemic Bupleurum (Apiaceae) species was analysed by GC technique for their nutritional value. The amount of oil content of the species varied from 3.77% to 7.03%. Twenty-one fatty acids were identified in the oils. The fatty acid composition of the studied species contained oleic, palmitic and linoleic acids as the major components. Oleic acid ranged from 8.81% to 68.30%, while the levels of palmitic acid were found to be between 12.47% and 47.85%. Bupleurum lycaonicum, Bupleurum sulphureum and Bupleurum heldreichii are very good sources of oleic acid. The remaining species were characterised as containing the highest level of palmitic acid. In this study, the total saturated fatty acids ranged between 15.02 and 65.20%, while total monounsaturated fatty acids were between 18.10 and 70.65%. The total polyunsaturated fatty acid accounted for 13.47-35.20% of the studied fatty acids. Therefore, we can conclude that Bupleurum oils have a significant nutritional value.

In this study, the effect of pasteurisation temperature on fatty acid composition of cheese was investigated. The fatty acid composition of raw and different heat‐treated milk, salt and salt‐free cheese were determined using cheese made from raw milk at temperatures varying between 70 and 90°C for 5 min. Generally, C 16:0 palmitic acid was the major fatty acid present in all milk and cheese samples. C 18:1 t11 vaccenic acid was the major trans fatty acid (TFA) in all samples. C 18:2 cis‐9, trans‐11 (Rumenic acid) was the major CLA isomer in these samples. Pasteurisation temperatures had no effect on TFA, CLA and fatty acid composition of the milk and cheese samples.

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Bupleurum species are among the plants used in Chinese medicine for phytotherapy. Various compounds obtained from plants have been found to exhibit anticancer activity. In this study, phenolic compounds, saikosaponins and podohyllotoxin contents of total root extracts from endemic Bupleurum species (Bupleurum sulphureum, Bupleurum lycaonicum, Bupleurum turcicum, Bupleurum heldreichii, Bupleurum pauciradiatum) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Total phenol content and free radical scavenging activities of total extracts were also identified. Finally, the effects of plant root extracts on viability of P-gp overexpressing paclitaxel resistant (MCF-7/Pac) and vincristine resistant (MCF-7/Vinc) MCF-7 mammary carcinoma cell lines and their parental line (MCF-7/S) were evaluated by cytotoxicity tests. Results showed that saikosaponin A, saikosaponin D and isoquercitrin contents of the root extracts were higher compared to podophyllotoxin, catechin and quercetin. While, B. lycaonicum root extract has about 1.5 fold more total phenol content with respect to others, B. turcium root extract has the highest free radical scavenging activity. According to cytotoxicity tests, B. turcicum and B. pauciradiatum root extracts were more toxic to the MCF-7/Pac cell line than the root extracts of other three species. In addition, B. heldrechii extract has been found to be the most toxic to the MCF-7/Vinc cell line among the others.