The effects of White Peony include nourishing the blood, regulating menstruation, reinforcing yin with astringent action to stop sweating, nourishing the liver pain and suppressing the liver-yang.
Used for:
- Irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis due to blood deficiency. It is often used along with Chinese angelica root, chuanxiong rhizome, and prepared rehmannia root.
- Spontaneous sweating due to exterior deficiency and night sweat due to yin deficiency. For the former, it is often used with cinnamon twig; for the latter, it is often prescribed with oyster shell, dragon’s bone, arborvitae seed, etc.
- Pain in the hypochondrium, stomach and abdomen due to disorder of the liver-qi or spasm and pain in the extremities. For pain in the hypochondrium due to stagnation of the liver-qi, it is often dispensed with bupleurum root and cyperus tuber, as in Bupleurum Powder for Dispersing Liver-qi (Chaihu Shugan San); for abdominal pain and diarrhea, it can be used with white atractylodes rhizome, tangerine peel and ledebouriella root, as in Prescription of Importance for Diarrhea with Pain(Tongxie Yaofang); for dysenteric abdominal pain, it can be used with aucklandia root, areca seed and coptis root; for spasmodic pain of the stomach and abdomen or in the extremities, it is often used with liquorice as in Decoction of Peony and liquorice(Shaoyao Gancao Tang).
- For hyperactivity of the liver-yang marked by headache and vertigo, it is often used along with dried rehmannia root, achyranthes root and red ochre, as in Sweeping Down Decoction for Hypertension(Jianling Tang).
Dosage and administration: 5-10gm, or 15-30gm in large dosage, decocted in water for an oral dose. For inducing astringency to reinforce yin, calming the liver and treating dysentery, it is usually used unprepared; for nourishing the liver to relieve pain, it is usually used stir-baked; it is made less cold after stir-baking with wine.
Precautions:
The herb should not be used alone in cases of yang exhaustion with cold manifestations of deficiency type. It is incompatible with black hellebore (Radix Veratri).
White Peony Root (Radix Paeoniae Alba) can help with the following
Night Sweats
If a person is healthy, mild night sweats can be treated with White Peony possibly combined with Zizyphus and Mume.
Key
| Likely to help |
Glossary
Astringent
Agent causing contraction, especially after topical application.
Dysmenorrhea
Difficult or painful menstruation.
Metrorrhagia
Any irregular, acyclic bleeding from the uterus between periods.
Stomach
A hollow, muscular, J-shaped pouch located in the upper part of the abdomen to the left of the midline. The upper end (fundus) is large and dome-shaped; the area just below the fundus is called the body of the stomach. The fundus and the body are often referred to as the cardiac portion of the stomach. The lower (pyloric) portion curves downward and to the right and includes the antrum and the pylorus. The function of the stomach is to begin digestion by physically breaking down food received from the esophagus. The tissues of the stomach wall are composed of three types of muscle fibers: circular, longitudinal and oblique. These fibers create structural elasticity and contractibility, both of which are needed for digestion. The stomach mucosa contains cells which secrete hydrochloric acid and this in turn activates the other gastric enzymes pepsin and rennin. To protect itself from being destroyed by its own enzymes, the stomach’s mucous lining must constantly regenerate itself.
Spasm
Involuntary contraction of one or more muscle groups.
Diarrhea
Excessive discharge of contents of bowel.
Decoction
Liquid prepared by boiling plant material in water for a period of time.
Vertigo
The sensation of spinning or whirling; a state in which you or your surroundings seem to whirl dizzily.
Hypertension
High blood pressure. Hypertension increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure because it adds to the workload of the heart, causing it to enlarge and, over time, to weaken; in addition, it may damage the walls of the arteries.
Gram
(gm): A metric unit of weight, there being approximately 28 grams in one ounce.
Dysentery
An inflammatory disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever, and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucous.
Herbs
Herbs may be used as dried extracts (capsules, powders, teas), glycerites (glycerine extracts), or tinctures (alcohol extracts). Unless otherwise indicated, teas should be made with one teaspoon herb per cup of hot water. Steep covered 5 to 10 minutes for leaf or flowers, and 10 to 20 minutes for roots. Tinctures may be used singly or in combination as noted. The high doses of single herbs suggested may be best taken as dried extracts (in capsules), although tinctures (60 drops four times per day) and teas (4 to 6 cups per day) may also be used.