Jia Wei addition in Xiao Yao San

Mǔ Dān Pí 牡丹皮

Moutan (tree peony) bark · Moutan Cortex (Paeonia suffruticosa) · added in Jia Wei Xiao Yao San in the classical formula

Role in the variant

Mǔ dān pí is not part of the base formula: it is one of the two additions that create Jia Wei Xiao Yao San. When liver constraint smolders long enough to generate heat — hot flushes, a quick temper, restless sleep, early or heavy periods — mǔ dān pí is added to clear heat from the blood level^[1].

Character

Bitter, acrid, and mildly cold, entering the heart, liver, and kidney channels. It both cools the blood and invigorates it, clearing heat without causing the stasis that purely cold herbs risk^[1].

In the pharmacy

The root bark of Paeonia suffruticosa, the tree peony — making the Jia Wei variant a formula that contains two different peonies doing two different jobs.