# Peony (Paeonia officinalis)

**Peonia**

**Known today as.** *Paeonia officinalis* and the “male” peony, the kind formerly grown for its medicinal root.

Kind: Plant

## What did Canale use it for?

Seed, root, and water throughout the powders and waters; its root in the oil; among the amulets (chs. 5–6, 9–10).

## What does modern science say?

Peony root was the ancient specific against epilepsy, hung round children’s necks since Galen, and was still reckoned antispasmodic in the nineteenth century. Its use against epilepsy has not been established by controlled trials, though an open-label pilot study of thirty children with intractable epilepsy (Zangooei Pourfard et al., 2021) reported fewer seizures on a root extract.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **paeoniflorin**: 
- **paeonol**: in the bark of the tree peony

**Mechanism.** Paeoniflorin relaxes smooth muscle and modulates the immune system in animals; the Chinese total glucosides of peony are a licensed drug for rheumatoid arthritis there.

**Dose.** No toxicity reported.

**Standing.** No approval in the West; the root is in the Chinese pharmacopoeia.

## What lore surrounds it?

Worn by children against epilepsy and night terrors into the modern period; the seeds were strung as teething beads.

## What did the older authorities say?

**Homer.** Named for Paeon, physician of the gods, who in the *Iliad* heals the wounds of Hades and of Ares.

**Theophrastus.** Records the lore that the root must be dug by night, lest a woodpecker see the gatherer and peck out his eyes.

**Galen.** Tells of a boy kept free of fits while a piece of peony root hung at his neck, a report that made the root the classic amulet against the falling sickness.

## Sources

- He, D.-Y., and Dai, S.-M. (2011). “Anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of *Paeonia lactiflora* Pall.” *Frontiers in Pharmacology* 2.
- Zangooei Pourfard, M., et al. (2021). “Efficacy and tolerability of hydroalcoholic extract of *Paeonia officinalis* in children with intractable epilepsy: an open-label pilot study.” *Epilepsy Research* 176.

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*Peony.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-25. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/peony

Historical description, not medical advice.