The chemical constituents of essential oil from the roots of Bupleurum chinense DC. were examined by means of GC-MS technique combined with preparative GC TLC and IR. As a result of the analyses, twenty components were identified namely: pentanoic acid, caproic acid, heptanoic acid, 2-heptenoci acid, caprylic acid, 2-octenoic acid, pelargonic acid, 2-nonenoic acid, phenol, cresol, ethylphenol, thymol, eugenol, 0-methoxyphenol, γ-heptalactone, γ-octalactone, γ-decalactone, γ-undecalactone, messoialactone and vanillin acetate.

Key words: CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, ESSENTIAL OIL, BUPLEURUM CHINENSE