Are Herbaceous Peonies Medicinal？

As we all know, the flower of Paeonia lactiflora is the world's famous flower. It is not only good-looking, has great ornamental value, but also has medicinal value of its roots.

 

Medical Value

Among the species distributed in China, most of the roots and barks of herbaceous peonies are used for medicinal purposes. They have the effects of antispasmodic, analgesic, cooling blood and dissipating blood stasis.

1. Antioxidative Effect

The peony bark extract and white peony can inhibit PHQ-induced pUC18 DNA cleavage, remove chemically produced superoxides and hydroxyl radicals. Paeoniflorin gallate and PGG are the compound isolated from the extract  have strong antioxidant activity. The ethanol extract of peony root contains gallic acid and methyl gallic acid, which has obvious anti-genotoxic effects. The ethanol extract of the aerial part of the Paeonia chinensis and its isolated fraction have a obvious inhibition of urease and α-chymotrypsin activity. Peony can be considered as a new source of antioxidants for the treatment of central diseases.

 

2. Antitumor Effect

The methanol extract of peony bark inhibits the adhesion of KDR/Rlk-1-Fc and the curing of VEGF165. The water extract of herbaceous peonie has an effect of inhibiting HepG2 and Hep3B cell lines. PGG inhibits the growth of human cancer cells in vitro. Paeonol shows obvious growth inhibition of human hepatoma cells and also enhances the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs. Resveratrol and dimers and trimers which isolated from herbaceous peonie seeds showed strong inhibitory effect on cell proliferation-induced DNA damage.

 

3. Antipathogenic-Microorganisms Effect

The methanol extract from the leaves of Paeonia suffruticosa has the function of killing nematodes by warts and also has a strongly inhibitory effect on the activities of HIV-I integrase and herpes simplex virus. The hot water extract of the peony root can inhibit the proliferation of fungi at a concentration of 5-10 mg/mL. The substances in the root bark of the peony root, especially paeonol, benzoic acid and monoterpene glycoside, are considered to be useful as insecticides or to control the action of corrosive acid. The ethyl acetate fraction from the extract of herbaceous peonies showed anti-HBV activity, and the water extract of herbaceous peonie showed anti-Coxsackievirus B3 activity at different concentrations.  It also shows resistance to other enteroviruses.

 

4. Immune System Regulation Effect

Total Paeony Glucoside (TPG) affects autoimmune diseases such as cellular immunity, humoral immunity and inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. The combination of TGP and methotrexate has a good dilution effect in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, especially rapid onset with low side effects and high compliance.

 

5. Protective Effects on Cardiovascular System

The extract of peony root has an anticoagulant effect. The aqueous extract of CM can inhibit platelet aggregation and platelet thromboxane B2 after oral administration. Paeoniflorin can significantly reduce total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein and triglyceride levels.

 

 

Ornamental Value

Peony is widely used in urban parks, street greenbelts, organs, schools, courtyards, temples, classical gardens and so on. Peony can be seen everywhere. With its brilliant colors and rich decorative effect, it has become an important ornamental landscape in gardens. Paeonia lactiflora is a major flower in modern parks or flower beds because of its magnificent flowers and abundant varieties, which are often planted in patches in gardens, or along the path, roadside for belt planting, or in the edge of the woodland cultivation with short and creeping flowers. Sometimes herbaceous peonies are planted in one or two or three plants to appreciate their special varieties. There is a special kind of garden called Shaoyao Garden, which is composed entirely of herbaceous peonies.The ancients evaluated the flower: P. suffruticosa first, P. lactiflora second, so-called P. suffruticosa for the flower king, P. lactiflora for the flower prime minister.