Can oil peonies be planted in Fu'an City in the south and produce peony seed oil?

Oil peonies and peony seed oil. Can oil and medicinal peonies be planted in Fu'an City in the south?

Oil peonies are a collective term used in production for varieties in the peony group whose seeds have an oil yield of >=20%. Zhao Xiaoqing et al. discovered in 2009 that the seed oil pressed from the seeds of 'Fengdan' peony is not only edible, but also has a very high content of unsaturated fatty acids, giving it the potential and value to be developed into edible oil. Zhu Wenxue et al. confirmed through research in 2010 that peony seed oil has no genetic toxicity, acute toxicity or subacute toxicity, and is safe for use as edible oil.In March 2011, with approval from the National Ministry of Health, peony seed oil officially became a new resource food oil.The high quality of peony seed oil is shown in its high content of unsaturated fatty acids of 83.05%-90.0%, among which linoleic acid content is 19.09%-34.90%, and especially linolenic acid content reaches 31.56%-66.85%.Linolenic acid is called by people "plant brain gold", and has effects such as enhancing intelligence, lowering blood

pressure and blood lipids, and clearing the heart and cerebrovascular vessels. It is indispensable to the human body, yet the body itself cannot synthesize it. The linolenic acid content of peony seed oil is even higher than that of rapeseed oil (8.4%), soybean oil (6.7%), sunflower seed oil (4.5%), olive oil (0.73%), peanut oil (0.08%) and others on the market. Using methods such as silica gel column chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, 13 compounds contained in the seed oil were identified, including hederagenin, oleanolic acid, stigmasterol, apigenin, luteolin and kaempferol. Gao Tingting also identified 11 compounds such as 9-heptadecanol, 8-hexadecanol, trimethylcyclohexyl ester, squalene and lauroyl peroxide using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Peony seed oil also contains vitamins, amino acids, polysaccharides and trace elements, as well as pharmacologically active substances such as flavonoids and stilbenes, and can have anti-diabetic activity and promote insulin secretion. The extraction method of peony seed oil is directly related to the quality of the seed oil and the oil yield. At present, the following five methods are commonly used: pressing extraction, supercritical CO2 extraction, Soxhlet extraction, microwave-assisted extraction and ultrasonic-assisted extraction. In comparison, supercritical CO2 extraction has the highest oil yield, reaching more than 27%; microwave-assisted extraction takes the shortest time, requiring only 8 min; the oil obtained by supercritical CO2 extraction, microwave-assisted extraction and ultrasonic-assisted extraction is bright yellow in color, clear and transparent, and also has good stability, with no significant change after being left for 3 months. Therefore, supercritical CO2 extraction is currently the preferred method for producing peony seed oil.

The reason the cultivation value and prospects of oil peonies have received widespread attention is not only the nutritional value and quality of the seed oil, but also their unique advantages in planting promotion and economic benefits. Because oil peonies have strong growth adaptability, they can survive planting under conditions of poor soil, drought and water shortage, especially in environments such as barren slopes, barren hills and forest land that are not suitable for planting cash crops. This saves good farmland, has significant ecological benefits, greatly reduces the costs required for planting and management, and has the economic advantage of being suitable for promotion. Oil peonies can adapt to most of China's climates and environments, have strong stress resistance, are cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant, and have a wide range of suitable cultivation areas, giving them a regional advantage for promotion. At the same time, oil peonies have relatively high seed yields and economic output value, and perform well in major cultivation areas such as Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Shaanxi and Hubei. Oil peonies begin to set seed in the 3rd year after planting, enter the peak seed-bearing period in the 5th year, and can continue for 30-40 years. Under good water and fertilizer conditions, the yield per mu can reach 283.63 kg, the average single pod weight is 51.2 g, and the seed-to-fruit ratio is about 41.3%. The National Oil Peony Engineering Technology Research Center, through continuous breeding research, released the new variety 'Xiangfeng', with a 6-year-old yield per mu of 203 kg and an 8-year-old yield per mu of up to 310 kg (Yu Ling et al. 2017). Calculated according to the current market price of 18 yuan/kg, the economic income from planting is considerable. At the same time, the oil yield of peony seeds is >=22%, and the subsequent industrial economic chain is long with high added value, giving it the value and prospect of being developed and utilized for health products and cosmetics.

Can oil and medicinal peonies be planted in Fu'an City in the south? For consultation on oil and medicinal peony seedlings in Fu'an City in the south, WeChat: 18374545223