OBJECTIVE: To explore the rule of influence of chitosan flocculation clarification and alcohol precipitation on the chemical compositions in aqueous extract of Paeoniae Radix Alba. METHODS: The fingerprints of aqueous extracts of Radix Paeoniae Alba were established by HPLC method, and the influences of the two purification methods on the chemical compositions in aqueous extract of Paeoniae Radix Alba were compared with the apparent content and relative apparent content of the composition as evaluation indexes. RESULTS: The chitosan flocculation clarification was superior to alcohol precipitat...