Dr. Mao’s Herb Corner

Mothers Day is around the bend. This month in the herb corner, I feature a potent herb from mother nature long used in Chinese medicine to support mother’s health.

Peony

Peony blossom is a universally prized flower in Chinese culture because of its symbol for elegance, compassion, happy marriage and beauty—virtues of women and mothers. According to Greek mythology, peony is linked to a nymph named Paeonia whose beauty attracts the attention of Apollo..

Medicinal peonies are more than just beautiful spring flowers, they also possess multitudes of benefits for health and anti-aging. Today, peony extracts are used both in medicine and in cosmetics.

According to Chinese medicine the three main health benefit of peonies are supporting regularity of menstruation, boost fertility and stop uterine spasms and pains.

Additionally, they are particularly beneficial to skin and are essential ingredients in skin formulations to fight tissue aging and sooth skin rashes.

Moreover, one particular species, paeonia lactiflora, has been used in Chinese medicine to treat rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, hepatitis, dysmenorrhea, muscle cramping, spasms and fever.

Researches have shown that paeonia inhibits the production of inflammatory proteins prostaglandin and leukotriene which promotes insulin resistance.

Who knew that a plant with beautiful flowers can have such potent beneficial properties, especially for women!