White peony is good at nourishing blood and regulating menstruation (regulating menstrual irregularities caused by blood deficiency), astringing yin and stopping sweating (astringing yin fluid to reduce sweating) and calming liver yang, while red peony is good at clearing heat and cooling the blood (clearing heat to alleviate heatiness of the blood), invigorating the blood to dissipate blood stasis (promoting blood circulation and eliminating stasis of blood in the body) and clearing the liver and diarrhea to remove liver fire.
White peony, whose effects are to nourish Blood and regulate menstruation, astringe Yin and stop sweating, calm Liver-Yang and soften the Liver to relieve pain (treating pain caused by Liver-Yin deficiency and Liver-Blood insufficiency), is mainly used for treating irregular menstruation, spontaneous sweating (involuntary sweating during the daytime which is aggravated by the slightest movement of sweating) and headache and dizziness. However, white peony should not be used with veratrum, nor is it suitable for patients with Yang deficiency and cold.
Radix Paeoniae Alba (赤芍) whose effects are clearing heat and cooling the blood and dispersing blood stasis and relieving pain, is mainly used for treating conditions such as heat entering the camp and blood (the degree of invasion of heat into the human body is deep and the symptoms are more severe), redness of the eyes and swelling and pain and dysmenorrhea due to menstrual closure. However, Radix Paeoniae Alba should not be used with Veratrum, and should not be used in menstrual closure with cold blood or by pregnant women.
It should be noted that if patients need to use white peony and red peony, it is recommended to use them under the guidance of a doctor.