Angelica dahurica pictures and effects and functions

White peony root is a perennial woody plant of the Umbelliferae family - the roots of Tou'an white peony root, Sichuan angelica dahurica and Hangzhou white peony root. It tastes fragrant, spicy and warm in nature. It has been regarded as a top-grade beauty and skin care product for generations.

The story of white peony root

It is said that when Emperor Taizu of Song was in power, there was a rich man's daughter in the south who suffered from severe abdominal abscesses every time she had her menstrual period, which caused her body to deteriorate day by day. The rich man took her to Kyoto, Japan to find a famous Chinese medicine doctor. When they arrived in Bianliang, the girl's menstrual period came and she had unbearable abdominal pain. He met an elderly man who was digging herbs. After carefully understanding the patient's condition, the elderly man took a bunch of white peony from the medicine basket and gave it to him, and told him to wash it and boil it in water to drink. The rich man thanked her and boiled the medicine according to the instructions. After taking the first dose, the pain was relieved, and after taking the second dose, the pain stopped. After taking a few more doses to deal with the aftermath, her menstruation came without any problems. Since then, it has become widely known in folk customs that women who suffer from menstrual discomfort can take white peony root tea.

Effects of Angelica dahurica

White peony root, also known as fragrant angelica. It tastes spicy and is warm in nature. It enters the lung, spleen, stomach and small intestine meridians. It has the effects of dispelling wind and replenishing deficiency, dispelling cold and relieving pain, removing dampness and clearing dizziness, reducing swelling and discharging pus. Modern pharmacological research has shown that in addition to its antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-infection effects, white peony root can also improve local blood circulation, eliminate excessive deposition of melanin in tissues, and promote skin cell metabolism, thereby achieving the effect of beauty and skin care. It is commonly used in clinical medicine to treat colds, headaches, toothaches, brow pain, rhinitis, intestinal wind hemorrhoids, red secretions, carbuncles, ulcers, centipede bites, etc.

Effects of Angelica dahurica

Beauty and skin care effects

It can dispel wind and replenish deficiency, dispel cold and relieve pain, remove dampness and clear dizziness, reduce swelling and discharge pus. It can improve body blood circulation, promote skin metabolism, remove excessive deposition of melanin in tissues, remove facial spots and scars, and treat scars, herpes, scabies, etc. "Shennong's Herbal Classic" emphasizes white peony root: "It nourishes the skin. It moisturizes the skin and can be used as facial cream." Whether it is the "Granite Facial Cream Recipe" or the "Yurong Powder", the secret recipe handed down from the ancestors of the Empress Dowager Cixi's palace, white peony root is the main ingredient in making facial cream. It is called black spots on the face. Modern science has confirmed that white peony has certain effects on acne, blackheads, and pimples. It has unique effects in removing spots and whitening, promoting blood circulation, and slowing down skin aging.

Anti-infection effect

Oral administration of 4 g/kg of white peony root or white peony root decoction (1 g of special herbal medicine) to mice could significantly inhibit the inflammation of the ears induced by xylene (P<0.01).

Antipyretic and analgesic effects

In the high fever cell model induced by subcutaneous injection of peptone into the back of rabbits, 1g of white peony root or 15g/kg of Hangzhou white peony root decoction had a significant antipyretic effect. Oral administration of 8 g/kg of white peony root or white peony root decoction significantly reduced the frequency of writhing induced by abdominal injection of 1% glacial acetic acid (0.l/kg) in mice, and the efficacy was similar to that of aminopyrine 8 mg/kg, P<0.001. In the hot plate test on experimental mice, those with a pain threshold within 30 minutes before administration were given 8g/kg of white peony or white peony root by gavage. 60 minutes after administration, the pain threshold of white peony and white peony root was significantly enhanced, and P<0.001 and 0.01 compared with the saline group.

Antispasmodic effect

The bergamot lactone, zanthoxylum bungeanum and isoimperatorin B contained in it have significant antispasmodic effect on rabbit ileum. Isoimperatorin can also increase the contraction force of the rabbit's uterus and the neuroactivity of the cervical muscles. Scopolamine has an antispasmodic effect on uterine spasms induced by estrogen or barium chloride in vivo or in paraffin sections of rats, with an ED50 of 0.09 mg/kg.

Effects on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases

The isoimperatorin and quinceanine contained in this product have the effect of lowering blood pressure for cats. 50mg/kg reduces aortic pressure by 50%, and the effect lasts for 1.5 hours. The polymer of isoimperatorin and N-butadienylpyrrolidone can increase the duration of aortic pressure reduction in cats by 5-10 times. It can also reduce the contraction force of paraffin-sectioned frog hearts.

Antibacterial effect

White peony root decoction has inhibitory effects on Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, Proteus, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio cholerae, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The oxypreparatatin contained in this product has antibacterial effects on 11 bacterial species in vitro tests; imperatorin also has antibacterial effects on Zanthoxylum bungeanum toxin; the MIC for human tuberculosis H37RV is 100mcg/ml. The soaking agent also has a certain inhibitory effect on pathogenic bacteria such as Trichophyton audouinii.

Photosensitive effect

The furanocoumarin compounds such as bergamotol, zanthoxylum bungeanum, and isoimperatorin B contained in this product are photoactive substances. Once they enter the body and are exposed to sunlight or ultraviolet rays, they can cause solar dermatitis on the directly exposed skin, resulting in swelling, increased melanin, and keratinization of the pigmented skin. The photosensitivity of Zanthoxylum bungeanum is the strongest, followed by bergamotolone, and isoimperatorin B is the weakest. Photosensitive active substances can be used to treat vitiligo. Isoprugine is an ingredient for the treatment of psoriasis, and its effectiveness has been proven by clinical erythema measurement.

Anti-cancer effect

Isoimperatorin and ligustrin have cytotoxic effects on Hela cells. The ED50 of isoimperatorin is 100 μg/ml.

Radiation protection effect

1g/kg of white peony root ethanol extract was injected into the abdomen 5 minutes before X-ray irradiation, which had a protective effect on the skin damage of mice.

Other effects

A small amount of white peony toxicity has an stimulating effect on the animal's medullary vascular motor center, respiratory center, sympathetic nerves and spinal nerves, which can increase blood pressure, slow pulse rate, increase breathing, and cause drooling and vomiting. Large amounts of use can cause tonic intermittent muscle spasm, followed by general numbness.