A Preliminary Study of Specification and Grade of Cortex Moutan

Objective To explore the correlation of the accumulation of the main active ingredients in Cortex Moutan with the thickness and tissue structure of root,and to provide a scientific basis for quality evaluation of Cortex Moutan and its specification and grade classification.Methods The root system of fiveyear-old Paeonia ostii was collected,and the roots in the root system were classified according to thickness,length,and position.Commercially available Cortex Moutan with different specifications was collected from the market.The content of paeoniflorin and paeonal in each sample was determined using highperformance liquid chromatography.Results Among Cortex Moutan of different grades,grade 4Cortex Moutan had the highest content of paeoniflorin,while grade 1Cortex Moutan had the highest content of paeonal.The content of paeoniflorin was lowest in the main root and highest in lateral roots.In the market,the unscraped Cortex Moutan had higher content of paeoniflorin but lower content of paeonal than the scraped Cortex Moutan.Conclusion The thin Cortex Moutan has a relatively high content of paeoniflorin,suggesting that more paeoniflorin accumulates in the periderm.Due to the opposite trends in accumulation of paeoniflorin and paeonal,the quality standard of Cortex Moutan needs further studies.