White Peony Root,Radix Paeoniae Alba,Bai Shao and Red Peony Root,Radix Paeonia Rubra,Chi Shao,Origin,function,Phytochemicals and Modern Researches.

Contents

• Basic Botanical Data Identification of White Peony Root.Radix Paeoniae Alba.
• Botanical Description of White Peony Root.
• Botanical Description of Red Peony Root.Radix Paeonia Rubra.Chi Shao.
• Origin of of White Peony Root.Radix Paeoniae Alba.
• Phytochemicals and Constituents of of White Peony Root and Red Poeny Root.
• Functions of of White Peony Root.
• Common medicinal uses of of White Peony Root.
• Pharmacological Action of of White Peony Root.
• Pharmacological Action of of Red Peony Root.
• Uses and combinations of of White Peony Root.
• How to take of White Peony Root.
• Precautions and Cautions on Use of White Peony Root.
• Safety and Acute toxicity.
• Modern Researches of White Peony Root,Red Peony Root.Paeoniflorin and Peony Root Extract.

Pharmacological Action of of White Peony Root.:

Properties: Bitter, sour and sweet in flavor, slightly cold in nature, it is related to the liver and spleen channels.

 Functions:

 Replenishes blood, regulates menstruation, suppresses hyperactivity of liver-yang and astringes yin to arrest sweating.

 White peony root has been used for over 1,500 years in Chinese medicine. It is known most widely as one of the herbs used to make 'Four Ingredients Soup (Si Wu Tang)', a woman's tonic, and it is also a remedy for gynaecological problems and for cramp, pain and giddyness.

 As a sweet and sour herb, this has yin-forcing effect, hence, it can replenish blood of the liver and nourish liver-yin; being bitter and cold in property, it can also suppress hyperactivity of liver-yang and clear liver-fire, supplement its deficiency and reduce its hyperactivity.

 It is thus a main herb for treating liver and is often used to treat syndromes of hyperactivity of liver-yang due to yin-deficiency, failure in nourishing liver due to blood-deficiency, night sweat due to yin-deficiency and blood deficiency.

 1. Dilating the coronary artery and blood vessels of hind legs in dogs.

 2. Lowering blood pressure transiently.
 3: Inhibiting the intestines in rabbits in vitro.
 4. Its component paeoniflorin inhibits the central nervous system.
 

 Immunoregulatory effects:

 Total glycosides of peony (TGP), paeoniflorin (PF), and TGP minus PF all have a concentration-dependent effect of increasing the low spleen lymphocyte proliferation in rats of adjuvant arthritis (all with a bell-shaped dose-effect relationship) and all can inhibit the peritoneal phagocytes' overproduction of IL-1 in rats of adjuvant arthritis (all with a reversed bell-shaped dose-effect relationship). In both instances, the effect of TGP is the most pronounced of the three.(Ge Zhi Dong, et al. Chinese Pharmacology Bulletin. 1995;11(4):303-305.)

 Counteracting arthritis:

 Administered to rats with adjuvant arthritis, TGP can not only inhibit foot swelling, they can also lower the elevated levels of MDA, NO2, and TNF, while raising the sagged activities of SOD, GSH-Px.(Wang Bin, et al. China Journal of Pharmacology andToxicology. 1996;10(3):211-214.)


 Protecting the liver:

 Experiments show that Bai Shao has a dosage-dependent inhibitory effect on hepatic lipid peroxidation.(Jiang Hui Di, et al. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine Material. 1997;20(12):624-626.)

 Laxative effects:

 Research shows that Bai Shao can directly act on the intestines, increasing mucus secretion in the large intestines, enhancing movement, and increasing the water content in both the small and large intestines.(Tan Jun Jia, et al. China Journal of TCM Science and Technology. 1998;5(3):1550157.)

 Effects on the activity of ATPase:

 Experiments show that TGP of relatively high concentrations can significantly increase the activity of Ca+|-Mg+|-ATPase and Na+|-K+|-ATPase, and decrease the concentration of cytoplasmic free calcium ions.(Wang Bin, et al. Journal of Anhui Medical University. 1998;33(3):176-177.)

 Effects on the cardiovascular system:

 TGP can cause vasodilation in isolated rabbit ears.They can also significantly lengthen mice's survival time from oxygen deprivation under normal pressure. They can improve the cardiac function of rabbits of pituitin-induced myocardial ischemia. These effects are dosage-dependent.(Wang Qian Mao, et al. Chinese Pharmacology Bulletin. 1986;2(5):26.Zhu Xiao Guang, et al. Chinese Pharmacology Bulletin. 1999;15(3):252-254.)

Reference:

• 1.White Peony Root,Radix Paeoniae Alba,Bai Shao and Red Peony Root,Radix Paeonia Rubra,Chi Shao,Origin,function,Phytochemicals and Modern Researches.

This article written and edited via herbalist of MDidea Extracts Professional. They run a range of online descriptions about this herb,including general information related and summarized updating discoveries from findings of professional scientisits this field related.Describe style aimed to form a useful detecting literature space where the intertwined threshold and related questions raise out and visualize themselves.

♣ last edit date:18th,Oct.2010.