Abstract
Intraperitoneal administration of the extract from Paeoniae Radix decreased the urea-nitrogen (BUN) concentration in rat serum. An attempt was made to extract and purify the active components, monitoring the BUN-decreasing activity. The acetone fraction from Paeoniae Radix decreased BUN concentration. After partition between ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and water, BUN-decreasing activity was detected in the EtOAc fraction. Further purification was carried out by Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 6-penta-O-galloyl glucose, (+)-catechin, and gallic acid were purified from the EtOAc fraction. (+)-Catechin and gallic acid showed no activity. It became clear that one of the BUN-decreasing components from Paeoniae Radix was 1, 2, 3, 4, 6-penta-O-galloyl glucose, which is a typical tannin of the gallotannins.
