ABSTRACT
Paeoniae Radix Rubra is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used in clinical practice， it is mostly wild and widely distributed in different areas of China. In addition， the plant of Paeoniae Radix Rubra also has ornamental value. Modern phytochemical researches showed that the chemical constituents of Paeoniae Radix Rubra were complex. Up to now， more than 300 chemical constituents have been found， mainly including monoterpene glycosides， triterpenoids， flavonoids， tannins， phenolic acids， saccharides， steroids， volatile oils and so on. Among them， the content of monoterpene glycosides was the highest， and the types of volatile oil were the most. Paeoniae Radix Rubra has a wide range of pharmacological effects， exerting different curative effects in multiple systems such as blood， cardiovascular， nervous and digestive system. It can protect myocardial cells and nerve cells， stabilize microcirculation， anti-endotoxin， anti-atherosclerosis， reduce pulmonary hypertension， anti-depression， protect liver， anti-gastric ulcer， anti-tumor， slow down aging， treat Parkinson's syndrome and diabetes and its complications， anti-radiation， anti-inflammatory， anti-virus and so on. Through reviewing the literature on chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Paeoniae Radix Rubra， it was found that total glycosides and monomers such as paeoniflorin， albiflorin， benzoylpaeoniflorin and gallic acid may be the main active components of Paeoniae Radix Rubra. At present， the research on Paeoniae Radix Rubra mainly focused on monoterpene glycosides， while the research on flavonoids and volatile oil in Paeoniae Radix Rubra was less. It is suggested that research on these two components should be strengthened in the future.