ISO 22586:2022

Overview

ISO 22586:2022 - Traditional Chinese medicine - Paeonia lactiflora root - White peony root, specifies minimum requirements and test methods for white peony root (dried root of Paeonia lactiflora Pallas). The standard applies to whole Chinese materia medica and decoction pieces derived from this plant and is explicitly not applicable to red peony root. It harmonizes quality criteria to support consistent safety, identity and potency across supply chains for white peony root used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Key topics and technical requirements

ISO 22586:2022 covers both organoleptic and analytical quality attributes, including:

• Morphology and identity

  • Appearance: cylindrical, smooth or longitudinally wrinkled roots.
  • Colour: brown to light grayish-brown with rootlet scars.
  • Dimension: length 5–18 cm, diameter 1–2.5 cm at the base.
  • Odour/taste: slight characteristic odour; slightly bitter and sour taste.
  • Microscopy: powdered features such as gelatinized starch, calcium oxalate clusters, bordered‑pitted vessels and xylem fibres.

• Quantitative limits

  • Moisture ≤ 14.0% (mass).
  • Total ash ≤ 6.5% (mass).
  • Acid‑insoluble ash ≤ 1.0% (mass).

• Chemical and contaminant testing

  • Marker compound identification and assay (e.g., paeoniflorin) using thin‑layer chromatography (TLC) and quantitative methods.
  • Determination of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic).
  • Detection of pesticide residues (e.g., benzene hexachloride, DDT, pentachloronitrobenzene).
  • Sulfur dioxide residue testing.

• Sampling, testing and reporting

  • Sampling per ISO 23723:2021; batch sample sizes and test report content are specified.
  • Annexes provide informative guidance on TLC identification and paeoniflorin determination, plus reference values from different countries/regions.

Applications - who uses ISO 22586:2022

This standard is practical for:

• Manufacturers and processors of Chinese materia medica and decoction pieces for ensuring product quality.
• Quality control laboratories performing identity, purity and assay testing (TLC, moisture, ash, heavy metal and pesticide analysis).
• Regulators and import/export control bodies setting acceptance criteria for herbal imports.
• Herbal suppliers, distributors and formulators who need harmonized specifications to manage sourcing, storage and labelling.
• Standards bodies and researchers comparing national requirements (Annex C reference values).

Related standards

ISO 22586 references several normative standards for test methods and handling, including:

• ISO 1575, ISO 1577 (ash determinations)
• ISO 18664 (heavy metals)
• ISO 22258 (pesticide residues)
• ISO 22590 (sulfur dioxide)
• ISO 20409, ISO 22217, ISO 21371, ISO 23723

Using ISO 22586:2022 supports reproducible quality control, regulatory compliance and safe use of Paeonia lactiflora white peony root in Traditional Chinese Medicine supply chains.