Paeoniflorin

Chemical Class	Monoterpene glycoside
Molecular Formula / CAS	C₂₃H₂₈O₁₁ · CAS 23180-57-6
Primary Botanical Source(s)	White peony root (Paeonia lactiflora)
Plant Part	Root
Typical Content	The dominant and most abundant of over 15 identified compounds within “total glucosides of paeony” (TGP), the standardised white peony extract used in Chinese clinical practice
Solubility / Format	Water-soluble glycoside; available as high-purity isolate and standardised root extract powders
Sourcing Status	Product-live — genuine match via Herbuno’s white peony extract line
Buy from Herbuno	Paeoniflorin 98% Powder (High-Purity Isolate) · Paeoniflorin 30% Powder (Standardized Extract)

Name origin: Paeoniflorin takes its name from the genus Paeonia (peony), named in classical antiquity for Paeon, physician to the Greek gods, and the -florin suffix common to compounds first isolated from flowering plants. Traditional use: White peony root has been used continuously in Chinese, Korean and Japanese traditional medicine for over 1,200 years, prepared as a decoction for rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, hepatitis, dysmenorrhea, muscle cramping and fever — one of the longest continuously documented traditional applications in the HerbIQ index, and one where the traditional indication (inflammatory joint disease) closely tracks the compound’s dominant modern research focus. Research trajectory: Paeoniflorin research accelerated substantially once Chinese researchers isolated and standardised “total glucosides of paeony” (TGP) as a defined pharmaceutical preparation, which received formal approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration in 1998 as an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory drug — making paeoniflorin one of relatively few HerbIQ compounds with a formal drug-regulatory approval history in a major market. Commercial source: White peony root is the standard commercial source of paeoniflorin, and Herbuno’s standardised extracts reflect this well-established, genuine botanical match.

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Evidence for Paeoniflorin Applications

Paeoniflorin is the principal active constituent of total glucosides of paeony (TGP), the water/ethanol extract of white peony root standardised for pharmaceutical use in China since 1998. A mechanistic review describes TGP/paeoniflorin as suppressing inflammatory processes by reducing production of prostaglandin E2, leukotriene B4, nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, and pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, while separately inhibiting lymphocyte and fibroblast-like synoviocyte proliferation, new blood vessel formation, and matrix metalloproteinase production relevant to joint tissue damage (Zhang & Wei 2012). Claim strength: Moderate.

Rheumatoid arthritis has been the dominant clinical focus of paeoniflorin research, with accumulated clinical data across multiple studies indicating TGP is effective at relieving rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and signs without significant adverse effects, supporting its formal recognition as a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic agent within Chinese clinical practice (Jiang et al. 2020). Long-term clinical application in Chinese hospitals has found gastrointestinal reactions to be the main tolerability concern, with no other serious adverse reactions reported at scale. Claim strength: Moderate.

Beyond rheumatoid arthritis, paeoniflorin and TGP have shown therapeutic relevance across a wider range of autoimmune conditions including systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, oral lichen planus, and Sjogren’s syndrome, with the analgesic effect of TGP confirmed across various animal pain models and proposed to be mediated partly through adenosine A1 receptor activity (et al. 2011). This breadth of autoimmune-disease research reflects paeoniflorin’s general immunomodulatory mechanism rather than a condition-specific action limited to joint inflammation. Claim strength: Moderate.

More recent mechanistic research has extended into molecular-pathway-specific investigation, including paeoniflorin’s effects on fibroblast-like synoviocyte proliferation via specific circular RNA and microRNA regulatory pathways in rheumatoid arthritis tissue, and modified derivatives such as paeoniflorin-6′-O-benzene sulfonate (CP-25) developed specifically to improve bioavailability over the parent compound. This growing mechanistic specificity reflects an actively maturing research area rather than a static body of decades-old findings. Claim strength: Emerging.

For formulators, paeoniflorin’s status as the active constituent of a nationally approved Chinese pharmaceutical preparation (TGP) gives it an unusually strong regulatory and clinical-use track record among botanical actives, though formulators outside China should verify how this domestic drug-approval status does or does not translate to dietary supplement positioning in their own target markets, since drug approval in one jurisdiction does not establish supplement status elsewhere. Claim strength: Moderate.

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Dosage & Formulator Specification

Chinese clinical practice with the approved TGP pharmaceutical preparation typically uses doses in the range of 600 mg TGP (containing a defined paeoniflorin fraction) two to three times daily for rheumatoid arthritis management; this reflects pharmaceutical-context dosing under clinical supervision rather than an established general dietary supplement dosing range.

Analytical quantification of paeoniflorin content is performed by HPLC, the standard method used across both the TGP pharmaceutical quality-control literature and general white peony research; formulators should request HPLC-verified paeoniflorin percentage rather than a generic total glucoside figure, since paeoniflorin is the dominant but not sole active constituent of the TGP complex.

Because paeoniflorin research is concentrated heavily on autoimmune and inflammatory joint conditions, formulators positioning paeoniflorin-standardised extract for general wellness or antioxidant use should be aware this diverges from the compound’s primary evidence base, which is specifically immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory rather than broadly tonic.

Regulatory positioning for paeoniflorin varies meaningfully by market: it underlies an approved pharmaceutical drug in China (TGP), while in most other jurisdictions white peony root and paeoniflorin-standardised extract are positioned as a traditional botanical supplement ingredient. Formulators should verify the correct regulatory category for paeoniflorin-standardised products in each specific target market rather than assuming supplement status applies universally.

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Frequently Asked Questions — Paeoniflorin

Related compounds: Ligustilide, Berberine