Mudanpi, a name in traditional Chinese medicine, refers to the dried root bark of Paeonia suffruticosa Andr., a plant of the genus Paeonia in the Ranunculaceae family. It is primarily produced in Anhui, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, and Shaanxi.This product has the effects of clearing heat and cooling the blood, as well as promoting blood circulation and resolving blood stasis. It is primarily used to treat heat invading the营血 (nutritive blood), warm toxins causing rashes, hemoptysis and epistaxis, fever at night and coolness in the morning, bone-steaming fever without sweating, amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, pain from falls and blows, and abscesses, swellings, and toxic sores.
Moutan Bark
Mudanpi, a name in traditional Chinese medicine, refers to the dried root bark of Paeonia suffruticosa Andr., a plant of the genus Paeonia in the Ranunculaceae family. It is primarily produced in Anhui, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, and Shaanxi.This product has the effects of clearing heat and cooling the blood, as well as promoting blood circulation and resolving blood stasis. It is primarily used to treat heat invading the营血 (nutritive blood), warm toxins causing rashes, hemoptysis and epistaxis, fever at night and coolness in the morning, bone-steaming fever without sweating, amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, pain from falls and blows, and abscesses, swellings, and toxic sores.
Chinese Name : 牡丹皮
Latin Name : Moutan Cortex
Aliases : Peony Root Bark, Danpi, Dangen
Authentic Producing Area : Anhui, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Shaanxi
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Slightly cold in nature; bitter and pungent in taste; enters the Heart, Liver, and Kidney meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Clears heat and cools the blood; promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis.
Indications
Mainly used for heat invading the营血, warm toxins causing rashes, hemoptysis and epistaxis, fever at night and coolness in the morning, bone-steaming fever without sweating, amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, pain from falls and blows, and abscesses, swellings, and toxic sores.
Usage and Dosage
Internal use: Decoct 6–9 g; or incorporate into pills or powders.
Precautions
1. Use with caution in cases of blood deficiency with cold. 2. Use with caution in pregnant women and those with heavy menstrual bleeding. 3. Should not be used in combination with garlic or cilantro.
Chemical Constituents
This product contains paeonol, paeonol glycosides,propeoniflorin, and neopeoniflorin, as well as paeoniflorin, paeoniflorin oxide, benzyl paeoniflorin, gallic acid, essential oils, phytosterols, benzoic acid, sucrose, and glucose.
Pharmacological Actions
This product has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antiarrhythmic, lipid-lowering, and microcirculation-improving effects.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Shennong Bencao Jing*: “It treats fever and chills, stroke-induced tremors, spasms, and epileptic seizures caused by pathogenic factors; removes masses and stagnant blood lodged in the stomach and intestines; soothes the five viscera; and treats boils and sores.”
2. *Yao Xing Lun*: “It treats cold qi, relieves various pains, and treats women’s menstrual blockages and lower back pain caused by blood stasis.”
3. *Compendium of Materia Medica*: “It harmonizes, generates, and cools the blood; treats latent fire in the blood; and relieves restlessness and fever.”
4. *Commentary on the Classic of Materia Medica*: “Its taste is bitter with a slight pungency; its nature is cold and non-toxic. The pungency disperses nodules and accumulations, while the bitter and cold properties eliminate blood heat; it is an essential herb for cooling blood heat by entering the blood system.”
5. *The Complete Works of Jingyue*: “It cools bone-steaming fever without sweating, disperses blood-related vomiting and nosebleeds, eliminates postpartum blood stasis and alternating chills and fever, expels accumulated blood and hard masses in the stomach and intestines, calms the mind, regulates menstruation, treats convulsions and epilepsy, and alleviates pain from abscesses and swellings.”In summary, its nature and properties are mild; it has no tonifying properties, but its slightly cool and pungent nature can harmonize, cool, and generate blood, eliminate restlessness and heat, and effectively move stagnant blood. Once the stagnation is removed, the pent-up heat resolves on its own, thus it also reduces fever. Those who use this herb do so for its ability to move blood stagnation without being overly potent.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. To treat warm diseases where heat enters the营血 (ying-blood) layer, causing erythema, hemoptysis, or epistaxis due to uncontrolled blood flow, it may be combined with Water Buffalo Horn, Raw Rehmannia, and Red Peony Root; to treat erythema caused by warm toxins, it may be combined with Gardenia, Rhubarb, and Scutellaria, as in the Peony Decoction (from *Shengji Zonglu*);To treat blood-heat-induced hematemesis and epistaxis, it may be combined with Rheum officinale, Silybum marianum, Rubia cordifolia root, and other herbs, as in the Ten Ash Powder (from *The Divine Book of Ten Medicines*); to treat yin deficiency with blood-heat causing hematemesis and epistaxis, it may be combined with raw Rehmannia glutinosa, Gardenia, and other herbs, as in the Nourish Water and Clear Liver Decoction (from *Compilation of Medical Principles*).
2. As a key herb for treating bone-steaming fever with absence of sweating, it is often combined with softshell turtle shell, Anemarrhena rhizome, and raw Rehmannia root, as in the Artemisia and Softshell Turtle Shell Decoction (*Treatise on the Differentiation of Warm Diseases*).
3. For treating amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea caused by blood stasis, it can be combined with Peach Kernel (Taoren), Sichuan Lovage (Chuanxiong), and Cinnamon Twig (Guizhi), as in the Cinnamon Twig and Poria Pill (Guizhi Fuling Wan) from *Essentials of the Golden Cabinet* (*Jingui Yaolue*); for treating pain from trauma, it can be combined with Safflower (Honghua), Frankincense (Ruxiang), and Myrrh (Moyao), as in the Peony Bark Powder (Mudanpi San) from *Standards for Diagnosis and Treatment* (*Zhengzhi Zhunsheng*).
4. To treat intense fire-toxin, abscesses, swellings, and toxic sores, it can be combined with herbs such as Rheum palmatum, Angelica dahurica, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis, as in the General’s Powder (Ben Cao Hui Yan); when combined with Rheum palmatum, peach kernels, and sodium sulfate, it can treat the early stages of intestinal abscess caused by the mutual entanglement of blood stasis and heat, as in the Rheum palmatum and Peony Bark Decoction (Jin Gui Yao Lue).
Related Compatibility
1. Peony Bark combined with Red Peony Root: Both herbs can clear heat and cool the blood, as well as promote blood circulation and disperse blood stasis. They are characterized by cooling the blood without causing blood stasis and promoting blood circulation without causing bleeding; Red Peony Root is particularly effective at cooling the blood and dispersing blood stasis.When used together, the efficacy of cooling the blood and promoting blood circulation is enhanced. This combination is suitable for conditions such as hemoptysis, epistaxis, and macules caused by heat invading the营血 (Ying Blood) in warm-heat diseases, as well as amenorrhea and irregular menstruation in women resulting from blood heat, blood stasis, or blood deficiency.
2. Peony Bark (Mudanpi) Combined with Salvia Root (Danshen): Peony Bark cools the blood and removes blood stasis, excelling at clearing latent fire in the yin; Salvia Root promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis, cools the blood and reduces swelling, clears heat and relieves restlessness, and is characterized by its ability to remove stagnant blood and promote the regeneration of new blood.When used together, these two herbs cool the blood, invigorate blood circulation, remove stasis to promote the generation of new blood, and enhance the ability to clear and dispel pathogenic heat. This combination is suitable for conditions involving a combination of blood stasis and deficiency-heat, as well as menstrual irregularities, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and postpartum lower abdominal pain caused by blood heat and stasis.
Medicinal Identification
1. Raw Moutan Bark, Roasted Moutan Bark, and Charred Moutan Bark: All three are different processed forms of Moutan Bark. Raw Moutan Bark excels at clearing heat and cooling the blood, as well as promoting blood circulation and resolving stasis. It is used for rashes or eruptions caused by warm toxins, yin deficiency fever, bone-steaming fever without sweating, intestinal abscesses, boils, swellings, and toxic sores, liver-fire headaches, amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, and injuries from falls or blows;Roasted Moutan Bark has a reduced cold and cooling nature and is specifically used to promote blood circulation and disperse blood stasis. It is indicated for amenorrhea due to blood stasis, dysmenorrhea, masses, and trauma; Charred Moutan Bark has a weaker ability to clear heat and cool the blood but is highly effective at stopping bleeding. It is commonly used for hemorrhagic conditions such as hematemesis and epistaxis caused by uncontrolled blood flow due to blood heat.
2. Moutan Bark and Rehmannia: Both herbs belong to the category of heat-clearing and blood-cooling agents; they are bitter in taste and cold in nature, entering the Heart and Liver meridians, and both possess the function of clearing heat and cooling the blood. They are used together to treat conditions such as high fever and mental confusion with a crimson tongue and dry mouth in warm diseases where heat has entered the营血 (Ying-blood) layer; rashes, hemoptysis, and epistaxis caused by uncontrolled blood heat; as well as residual heat in the late stage of warm diseases, manifested as nighttime fever and morning chill, or fever subsiding without sweating.However, Peony Bark is pungent and cold in nature and also enters the Kidney meridian; it excels at clearing latent heat in the Yin level and can also invigorate blood and disperse stasis. It is frequently used to treat menstrual obstruction due to blood stasis, masses and masses, trauma, pain from stasis-induced swelling, abscesses, sores, and toxic infections, as well as the early stages of intestinal abscess.Rehmannia (Dihuang) is sweet, cold, and moist in nature; it also enters the Lung Meridian and excels at nourishing yin and generating body fluids. It is frequently used for thirst caused by yin deficiency due to febrile diseases, internal heat-induced diabetes, and intestinal dryness with constipation.
Related Medicines
Xuemei’an Capsules, Shuangdan Granules (oral solution), Danggui Shaoyao Dihuang Pills, and Jiawei Xiaoyao Pills.
Related Prescriptions
Shihui Powder (*The Divine Book of Ten Medicines*), Artemisia and Soft-shelled Turtle Shell Decoction (*Treatise on the Differentiation of Warm Diseases*), Cinnamon Twig and Poria Pill (*Essentials of the Golden Cabinet*), and Rhubarb and Moutan Bark Decoction (*Essentials of the Golden Cabinet*).
Medicinal Diet Therapy
Peony Bark Beijing-Style Soy Sauce Tofu:
1. Effects: Clears heat, cools the blood, purges fire, and eliminates toxins.
2. Ingredients: 100g ground pork, 60g black wood ear mushrooms, 60g water chestnuts, 100g tofu, 10g red peony root, 10g peony bark, 5g gardenia, and rice as needed.
3. Preparation: Place all the herbs in a pot with water and heat over low heat until boiling. After about 1 minute, turn off the heat, strain the herbal decoction, and mix it with the seasonings to make the medicinal sauce. Mix the ground pork, sweet bean paste, and rice wine, then marinate for 10 minutes.Wash the black wood ear mushrooms, water chestnuts, and tofu thoroughly, then dice them into small cubes. Heat vegetable oil in a wok, add the marinated ground pork, and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Add the black wood ear mushrooms, water chestnuts, and tofu, then pour in the medicinal seasoning and stir-fry until well combined.
4. Usage: Serve as a side dish.
Notes
Patients requiring treatment with traditional Chinese medicine should first consult a licensed TCM hospital, where a TCM practitioner will conduct a professional pattern differentiation and issue a prescription.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
When grown from seed, the plant takes 4–6 years to mature; when propagated by division, it is harvested after 3 years. From late September to early October, after the aboveground parts have withered, the roots are dug up, cleaned of soil and fibrous roots, and the woody core is removed while the roots are still fresh. The roots are then sun-dried to produce raw Danpi. When the outer bark is scraped off and the woody core is removed, the resulting product is called “Scraped Danpi.”
Processing Methods
1. Peony Bark: Take the raw herb, remove impurities, rinse thoroughly with running water, slice thinly, and dry.
2. Charred Peony Bark: Place sliced peony bark in a pan and heat over medium heat until the surface turns dark brown. Spray with a small amount of water to extinguish any embers, then remove, air-dry, and allow to cool completely.
3. Wine-Processed Peony Bark: Take the slices of peony bark, mix thoroughly with yellow wine, let them steep until fully saturated, place them in a pan, heat over low heat, stir-fry until dry, then remove and let cool. Use 12 kg of yellow wine for every 100 kg of peony bark slices.
4. Stir-Fried Peony Bark: Take the slices of peony bark, place them in a pan, heat over low heat, and lightly stir-fry until yellow; then remove and let cool.
Storage Methods
Store in a dry, airtight container in a cool, shaded place. Protect from mold. Store charred peony bark only after it has cooled completely to prevent reignition.
Crude Drug Identification
Identification
1. The powder of this product is pale reddish-brown. Starch granules are very numerous; single granules are round or polygonal, with a diameter of 3–16 μm; the hilum is punctate, fissured, or bird-wing-shaped; compound granules consist of 2–6 subgranules. Calcium oxalate cluster crystals have a diameter of 9–45 μm; sometimes, crystal-containing cells are connected, with cluster crystals arranged in rows, or a single cell may contain several cluster crystals.In Lian Danpi, rectangular cork cells with slightly thickened, pale red walls are visible.
2. Take 1 g of the powdered sample, add 10 mL of ether, seal tightly, shake for 10 minutes, and filter. Evaporate the filtrate to dryness; dissolve the residue in 2 mL of acetone to prepare the test solution.Separately, take a reference standard of paeonol, dissolve it in acetone to prepare a solution containing 2 mg per mL, and use this as the reference solution. Perform thin-layer chromatography (General Chapter 0502): pipette 10 μL of each of the two solutions and apply them separately onto the same silica gel G plate. Develop the plate using a mobile phase of cyclohexane-ethyl acetate-glacial acetic acid (4:1:0.1) as the developing agent, remove the plate, allow it to air-dry, and spray with a 2% vanillin-ethanol-sulfuric acid solution (1:10). Heat at 105°C until the spots become clearly visible. In the test solution chromatogram, spots of the same color appear at positions corresponding to those in the reference chromatogram.
Properties of Crude Drugs
1. Lian Danpi: Cylindrical or semi-cylindrical in shape, with a longitudinal split; slightly curled inward or spread open; 5–20 cm long, 0.5–1.2 cm in diameter, and 0.1–0.4 cm thick.The outer surface is grayish-brown or yellowish-brown, with numerous transverse, lenticular protrusions and fine root scars; areas where the cork has peeled off are pink. The inner surface is pale grayish-yellow or light brown, with distinct fine longitudinal striations and frequently visible shiny crystals. The texture is hard and brittle; it breaks easily, with a relatively flat fracture surface that is pale pink and powdery. It has an aromatic odor and a slightly bitter and astringent taste.
2. Scraped Peony Bark: The outer surface bears scraping marks from a scraper; it is reddish-brown or pale grayish-yellow, and grayish-brown spots of residual outer bark are sometimes visible.
Properties of Processed Slices
1. Peony Bark: This product consists of thin, round or curled slices. The outer surface of the unpeeled bark is grayish-brown or yellowish-brown, with a pinkish color where the cork has peeled off; the outer surface of the scraped bark is reddish-brown or pale grayish-yellow. Shiny crystals are sometimes visible on the inner surface. The cross-section is pale pink and powdery. It has an aromatic odor and a slightly bitter and astringent taste.
2. Charred Peony Bark: Resembles Peony Bark in appearance; it is blackish-brown in color, with a faintly fragrant odor and a slightly bitter and astringent taste.
3. Wine-Infused Peony Bark: Resembles Peony Bark in appearance; it has a faint odor of wine.
4. Roasted Peony Bark: Resembles Peony Bark in appearance; it has a fragrant odor and a slightly bitter and astringent taste.
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
Peony (Paeonia), a plant of the genus Paeonia in the Ranunculaceae family.
Morphological Characteristics
A deciduous small shrub, 1–2 m tall. The root is thick and robust. The stem is erect, the branches are sturdy, and the bark is blackish-gray. Leaves are alternate and papery; petioles are glabrous;leaves are typically twice-ternate or twice-pinnate; leaves near the branch apex are trifoliate, with the terminal leaflet often deeply 3-lobed, the lobes 2–3 times shallowly lobed or entire; upper surface green and glabrous, lower surface pale green, sometimes covered with a white powder; lateral leaflets narrowly ovate or oblong-ovate, 2–3 times shallowly lobed or entire, nearly sessile.Flowers are bisexual, solitary at the branch tips; bracts 5, oblong, of unequal size; sepals 5, broadly ovate, of unequal size, green, persistent;petals 5, or double, obovate, with irregularly wavy apices, purple, red, pink, rose-colored, yellow, pea-green, or white, showing great variation; stamens numerous, filaments also purple-red or similar colors, anthers yellow; disk cup-shaped, leathery, with several sharp teeth or lobes at the apex, completely enclosing the carpels, splitting open when the carpels mature;There are 5 carpels, rarely more, free, green, and densely covered with soft hairs. The capsule is oblong and densely covered with yellowish-brown stiff hairs. The seeds are broadly elliptical or obovate-globose, black or brownish-black, and glossy. Flowering occurs from April to May, and fruiting from June to July.
Distribution Area
It is widely cultivated throughout China for ornamental purposes.
Growth Habits
It prefers a warm and humid climate; it is relatively cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant but is sensitive to waterlogging and high temperatures, and does not tolerate intense sunlight. It thrives in deep, well-drained, fertile, and loose sandy loam or silty loam soils. It is not suitable for cultivation in saline-alkali or clay soils.
Propagation Methods
Propagation is by seed, division, or grafting.
Cultivation Techniques
1. Propagation by Seed: Peony seeds exhibit hypocotyl dormancy, so fall sowing is recommended. Sowing dates are mid- to late September in the Beijing area; early August to late October in Anhui; and early August to early September in Shandong. Soak the seeds in 50°C warm water for 24–30 hours before sowing to promote germination. Seeds sown in spring must be stored in moist sand before planting.Select a site and apply ample base fertilizer, spreading it evenly. Deep-till the soil to a depth of 15–30 cm, level it with a rake, and create rectangular raised beds. Make shallow furrows with a row spacing of 6–9 cm, sow the seeds evenly in the furrows, cover with soil, level the surface, and lightly tamp down. For winter protection, cover with 6 cm of moisture-retaining soil or 1.5–3 cm of cow or horse manure, then cover with straw to retain heat and moisture.In early spring of the following year, remove the coverings; as soil temperature rises, remove the moisture-retaining soil layer. Water once to promote germination before the seedlings emerge; apply 1–2 applications of fertilizer after the seedlings have fully emerged. In the fall, select vigorous seedlings and transplant them at a spacing of 30 cm × 50 cm between rows and plants. After planting, hill up the soil 6–9 cm high to protect them through the winter.
2. Division Propagation: Prepare the soil by forming raised ridges. When harvesting peony bark, select healthy, pest- and disease-free small roots. Divide them according to the shape of the root clump, leaving 2–3 buds on each root to prevent infection. Plant them in the prepared beds at a row and plant spacing of 40 cm × 60 cm. Water after planting to maintain soil moisture, and hill up the soil before the ground freezes.
3. Grafting Propagation: This method is primarily used for ornamental varieties and is not employed in large-scale cultivation.
Pest and Disease Control
1. Gray Mold: Control gray mold with a 1:1:100 solution of Bordeaux mixture.
2. Leaf Spot: Control leaf spot with a 600-fold dilution of mancozeb.