HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHIC AND PROTON MAGNETIC-RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPIC METHODS FOR QUALITY EVALUATION OF PEONIA ROOTS

The root of several Paeonia species is one of the most frequently used plant materials in traditional Chinese medicine, and has been shown to have a variety of pharmacological properties. Owing to the differences in species, cultivation, harvesting and processing, the quality of the roots as commercial medicinal herbs varies to a considerable extent. A quantitative high performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the quality evaluation of Paeonia root, and a number of commercial samples have been examined. A quantitative H-1-nuclear magnetic resonance procedure has also been developed for this purpose, and this may find a wider application in the analysis of other plant materials.