4.1.4 White Peony Root

4.1.4 White Peony Root

White peony root is the peeled and dried root of Paeonia lactiflora Pall., mainly produced in Zhejiang, Sichuan, and other regions. Its nature is slightly cold, its taste bitter and sour, and it enters the Liver and Spleen meridians. It nourishes blood and astringes yin, calms the Liver and relieves pain. White peony root yields various compounds such as paeoniflorin sulfite ester, paeoniflorin lactone glycoside, paeoniflorin, and benzoylpaeoniflorin [90]. Total white peony glycosides significantly inhibit the growth of both S180 ascitic and solid tumors in mice, enhance T lymphocyte transformation, increase serum TNF-α levels, strengthen cyclophosphamide’s anti-tumor effects while reducing its toxicity to the body [92], induce apoptosis in liver cancer cells, and inhibit liver cancer cell lines such as HepG2 and SMMC-7721 [93–94].