Peony pollen contains multiple nutrients and components and has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine with a long history, but the effect of the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea remains to be clarified. The aim of this study is to investigate the therapeutic effect of peony pollen on primary dysmenorrhea mice and the potential mechanism. A uterus contraction model in vitro and primary dysmenorrhea mice were used to evaluate the treatment effect of peony pollen on primary dysmenorrhea. The primary dysmenorrhea mice were treated with 62.5 mg/kg, 125 mg/kg, or 250 mg/kg of peony pollen, and the writhing response, latency period, histopathological changes in the uterus, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) levels, and infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages were investigated. Protein expression of interleukin 1 β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), microsomal prostaglandin-E synthase 1 (mPGEs-1), BCL2-Associated X (Bax), B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2), caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-3 were detected by Western blot, and the oxidative stress related marker malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were evaluated. Peony pollen could attenuate spontaneous or oxytocin-induced uterus contractions in vitro. Moreover, peony pollen decreased the writhing times, prolonged the writhing latency, and reduced the pathological damage of uterine tissues. Furthermore, the inflammatory cell infiltration and the protein expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and NLRP3 were decreased. The COX-2/PGE2 pathway was inhibited; oxidative stress and apoptosis in the uterus also improved in the uterus of primary dysmenorrhea mice. Peony pollen exerts a positive effect on primary dysmenorrhea by inhibiting the inflammatory response and modulating oxidative stress and apoptosis by regulating the COX-2/PGE2 pathway.

Panvascular diseases are complex, with systemic vascular system damage as the common pathological basis. The pathogenesis of panvascular diseases is closely related to vascular endothelial dysfunction, inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, abnormal lipid metabolism, platelet aggregation, and thrombosis, posing a serious threat to human health. The Paeonia × suffruticosa Andrews (P. suffruticosa), a type of medicinal peony, is one of the Standard Chinese medicinal herbs included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The root bark, leaves, petals, pollen, seeds, and follicles of P. suffruticosa are rich in various active compounds, including paeonol, paeoniflorin, and α-linolenic acid. Modern studies have demonstrated that these compounds exhibit significant pharmacological activities, including vascular endothelial protection, lipid metabolism regulation, antiplatelet aggregation, and anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antithrombotic effects. Furthermore, their mechanisms of action are highly consistent with the key pathological processes of panvascular diseases, indicating that P. suffruticosa has important value in the prevention and treatment of such diseases. The information involved in the study was gathered from a variety of electronic resources, including PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SciFinder, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Google Scholar. The retrieval period was from 1999 to 2025. This review systematically summarizes the pharmacological effects of the main active compounds of P. suffruticosa on panvascular diseases, providing a theoretical reference for the in-depth development and utilization of P. suffruticosa resources and the development of innovative drugs for preventing and treating panvascular diseases.