• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.193-199
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• 1999

This study was conducted to establish the standard of quality evaluation in Korean cultivated peony root(Paeoniae Radix). The diameter of fresh root and the concentrations of paeoniflorin, abliflorin and five phenolic compounds at different root ages in Euisung cultivar were investigated. The diameters of fresh root were 5.5mm, 10.3mm, 15.6mm and 19.1mm in one-year, two-year, three-year and four-year-old, respectively. It was also found that the diameter of fresh root was uniformly increased with the increase of root age. The concentrations of paeoniflorin, albiflorin, (+) -catechin and benzoic acid in one-year-old peony root(6.44%, 1.55%, 0.80% and 0.36%, respectively) were higher than those in three-(3.49%, 0.62%, 0.43% and 0.26%) or four-year-old(3.28%, 0.47%, 0.34% and 0.20%). The concentrations of gallic acid, (-) -epicatechin and (+) -taxiforin $3-O-{\beta}-D-glucoside$ were higher in three- (0.26%, 0.09% and 0.26%, respectively) or four-year-old (0.26%, 0.10% and 0.29%) than those in one-year-old (0.25 %, 0.08 % and 0.23 %) by contraries. Excepting (-) -epicatecin, the concentrations of paeoniflorin, albiflorin and four phenolic compounds in the root of unremoved cork layer were higher than those in the root of removed cork layer.