Peony Petal
Peony petal is the dried corolla of the peony, taken from the tree peony Paeonia suffruticosa and Paeonia ostii or from the herbaceous Paeonia lactiflora, harvested at full bloom and dried whole for use as a botanical ingredient. It is traded as a flower material rather than as an extract, in the same category as rose bud, chrysanthemum and osmanthus.
The petals carry anthocyanins in the pigmented cultivars, principally paeonidin and peonidin glycosides, along with flavonol glycosides such as kaempferol and quercetin derivatives, the monoterpene glycoside paeoniflorin at lower levels than in the root, phenolic acids and a small volatile fraction that gives the characteristic sweet floral aroma. In food use its function is sensory and visual: colour, floral aroma and the appearance of an intact flower in an infusion.
The material comes as loose dried whole petals, dried whole flower heads, or a milled powder, at 10 percent moisture or below. Dried petals are brittle and light, with a bulk density low enough that packing volume rather than weight decides handling. Petals are not soluble; they are infused, and the anthocyanin pigment and aroma compounds pass into hot water within two to three minutes. The pigment is pH sensitive, holding red tones under acid conditions and shifting towards blue and grey as pH rises. It is also degraded by prolonged heat and by light, so both the dried petal and any infusion made from it fade in storage.
We source bulk Peony Petal from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Shaanxi. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
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- Function
- Nutraceutical
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Dried whole petals, characteristic pink to deep red or white by cultivar |
| Identification | Conforms to Paeonia species petal by macroscopic and microscopic examination |
| Odour and taste | Characteristic floral aroma, slightly sweet and astringent |
| Moisture | 10.0 percent maximum |
| Total ash | 8.0 percent maximum |
| Acid insoluble ash | 2.0 percent maximum |
| Foreign organic matter | 2.0 percent maximum |
| Broken petal and fines | 5.0 percent maximum |
| Sulphur dioxide | Not detected, 10 mg/kg limit of quantification |
| Lead | 3.0 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 2.0 mg/kg maximum |
| Cadmium | 1.0 mg/kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 100,000 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 1,000 cfu/g maximum |
| Escherichia coli | Absent in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Peony petal is graded by botanical origin, by colour and by physical integrity. Tree peony and herbaceous peony material are specified separately because the cultivars differ in petal thickness, pigment level and aroma. Within each, deep red and pink cultivars are traded at a premium over white and pale grades where colour in the cup is the objective.
Physical grading is the main commercial distinction. Whole flower heads dried with the calyx intact are the top grade for presentation teas, followed by whole loose petals, then broken petals, then fines and powder. Buyers also distinguish air dried material, which retains more aroma and a duller colour, from freeze dried petals, which hold a brighter colour and a more open structure but cost more and are more fragile. Sulphur treated material, sometimes encountered in the dried flower trade, is normally excluded by specification for food use. Milled powder at 60 to 100 mesh is a separate grade sold for blending rather than infusion, and organic certified material is available as an overlay on any of these.
Applications
- Herbal and flower teas, where whole petals or heads are infused alone or blended with green and white tea for floral aroma
- Blended tea presentation, where intact dried heads open in the cup and provide the visual element of a display tea
- Botanical infusions and ready to drink floral beverages, where the petal supplies both aroma and a pink to red hue in the acid pH of a soft drink
- Herbal supplement blends and capsules, where milled petal is used as a botanical component alongside rose and chrysanthemum
- Bakery and confectionery decoration, where dried petals are used as an edible garnish on cakes, chocolates and desserts
- Flavoured honey, syrup and jam production, where petals are macerated to transfer aroma and colour
- Cosmetic and personal care formulation, where petal powder and infusions are used in masks, bath products and toners
- Aroma and natural extract production, where petals are the feedstock for solvent or supercritical extraction of a floral concrete
- Potpourri and non food botanical blends, which take the broken and lower visual grades
China Manufacturers of Peony Petal
Top Peony Petal manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States dried peony petal is handled as a botanical food ingredient and as a dietary ingredient. There is no food additive regulation or GRAS listing specific to the petal, so its lawful use as a conventional food, most often as a herbal tea, rests on its history of use as a food botanical, while its use in supplements falls under the dietary ingredient provisions of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. Herbal infusions are subject to the general adulteration and labelling provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and to the current good manufacturing practice rules for dietary supplements at 21 CFR Part 111 where the material is used in that channel.
In the European Union the position depends on the intended use. Botanical material without a significant history of consumption in the Union before May 1997 falls under the Novel Food Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, and Paeonia flower material is not established on the Union list, so a novel food assessment would be required for general food use. National rules in several member states additionally govern herbal infusions and food supplements containing botanicals, and the food supplements Directive 2002/46/EC governs their labelling. Dried flowers are subject to statutory maximum levels for pesticide residues and, in common with other dried botanicals, to controls on contaminants and on the use of sulphur dioxide, which must be declared where present above the labelling threshold. Codex Alimentarius has no commodity standard for peony flower, and its general standards for contaminants and its code of hygienic practice for low moisture foods provide the applicable international reference.
Manufacturing Process
Peony flowers are hand picked at or just before full opening, usually in a short window of two to three weeks in late spring, and in the morning while the volatile content is highest. Flowers destined for whole head grades are handled individually and laid in single layers; those for loose petal grades are stripped from the receptacle by hand at the collection point. Damaged, insect marked and browning flowers are sorted out before drying, since discolouration cannot be corrected downstream.
Drying is the step that sets quality. Traditional practice is shade or air drying on racks in ventilated rooms, which preserves aroma but is slow and leaves a duller pigment. Industrial lines use low temperature hot air drying at 40 to 50 degrees Celsius in belt or tray driers, taking moisture down to 8 to 10 percent, with airflow controlled to avoid curling and browning. Freeze drying is used for the high colour grades, sublimating the water from frozen petals under vacuum so that both pigment and cell structure are retained. Dried material is then graded by hand or on vibrating screens into heads, whole petals, broken petals and fines, passed over magnets and metal detection, and where a low microbial count is specified given a steam, hot air or irradiation treatment appropriate to the destination market. Packing is into lined cartons or foil laminate bags with the light and oxygen barrier that anthocyanin retention requires, and cold storage is used for the premium colour grades.
