Valerian (herb)

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis, Caprifoliaceae) is a perennial flowering plant native to Eurasia. It produces a catnip-like response in cats.

Crude extracts of valerian root may have sedative and anxiolytic effects; however, the clinical evidence is mixed and debated. It is commonly sold as dietary supplement to promote sleep. It is recognized as safe and effective as a medicine in the European Union based on clinical trials.

Names

The name of the herb is derived from the personal name Valeria and the Latin verb Template:Lang (to be strong, healthy).<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref><ref>Latin definition for: valeo, valere, valui, valitus Template:Webarchive. latin-dictionary.net</ref> Other names used for this plant include garden valerian (to distinguish it from other Valeriana species), garden heliotrope (although not related to Heliotropium), setwall (though this originally meant zedoary, from which it is etymologically derived) and all-heal (which is also used for plants in the genus Stachys).<ref name="drugs">Template:Cite web</ref> Red valerian, often grown in gardens, is also sometimes referred to as "valerian", but is a different species (Centranthus ruber), from the same family but not very closely related. Valerian is also called cat's love for its catnip-like effects.<ref name="drugs" />

Description

The plant grows up to Template:Convert tall and 1 m wide. The erect stems are unbranched, with pinnately divided, toothed leaves. The flowers are light pink, grouped in both compound and secondary clusters.<ref name="tfb">Template:Cite book</ref>

In the summer the mature plant can bear sweetly scented pink or white flowers.

Distribution and habitat

The plant is native to Europe and Asia.<ref name="drugs" /><ref name="ods">Template:Cite web</ref> It is widespread in Britain.<ref name="tfb" />

Ecology

The flowers attract many fly species, especially hoverflies of the genus Eristalis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The plant is consumed as food by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including the grey pug.

As an invasive species

Valerian is considered an invasive species in many locations outside its natural range, including the U.S. state of Connecticut where it is officially banned,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in New Brunswick, Canada, where it is listed as a plant of concern.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Effect on cats

Valerian root is a cat attractant, containing attractant semiochemicals in a way similar to catnip, which can affect cat behavior.<ref name="bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com">Template:Cite journal</ref> Its roots and leaves are one of three alternatives for the one-third of domesticated or medium-sized cats who do not feel the effects of catnip.<ref name="bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Valerian root has also been reported to be attractive to rats and used to attract members of the family Canidae to traps.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Valerian extract

Phytochemicals

Known compounds detected in valerian include:<ref name="drugs" />

• Alkaloids: actinidine,<ref name="phenolics">Fereidoon Shahidi and Marian Naczk, Phenolics in food and nutraceuticals (Boca Raton, Florida, USA: CRC Press, 2004), pp. 313–314 Template:Webarchive Template:ISBN.</ref> chatinine,<ref name="phenolics" />Template:NoteTag shyanthine,<ref name="phenolics" /> valerianine,<ref name="phenolics" /> and valerine<ref name="phenolics" />
• Isovaleramide may be created in the extraction process.Template:NoteTag
• Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)<ref name="ods" />
• Valeric acid<ref name="EB1911">Template:Cite EB1911</ref>
• Isovaleric acidTemplate:NoteTag
• Iridoids, including valepotriates<ref name="phenolics" />
• Sesquiterpenes (contained in the volatile oil): valerenic acid,<ref name="pmid14742369">Template:Cite journal</ref> hydroxyvalerenic acid and acetoxyvalerenic acid<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Flavanones: hesperidin,<ref name="pmid12895671">Template:Cite journal</ref> 6-methylapigenin,<ref name="pmid12895671" /> and linarin<ref name="pmid14751470">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Preparation

The chief constituent of valerian is a yellowish-green to brownish-yellow oil present in the dried root, varying in content from 0.5 to 2.0%. This variation in quantity may be determined by location; a dry, stony soil yields a root richer in oil than moist, fertile soil.<ref name="botanical">Template:Cite web</ref>

Traditional medicine

File:ValerianEssentialOil.png

Valerian (V. officinalis) essential oil

Valerian is a common traditional medicine used for treating insomnia. Some sources describe its effectiveness for this purpose as weak, ineffective, inconclusive, or low.<ref name="drugs" /><ref name="ods" /><ref name="altrev">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Two meta-analyses concluded that valerian may improve sleep quality.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A 2006 meta-analysis concluded that there was insufficient evidence to determine valerian’s effectiveness or safety for anxiety disorders.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Another meta-analysis found that valerian may be safe and effective for improving sleep and reducing anxiety and that inconsistent results in past research likely stem from variability in extract quality.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In contrast, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the health claim that valerian can be used as a traditional herb to relieve mild nervous tension and to aid sleep; the EMA’s Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products recognizes valerian dry ethanol extract as a well-established herbal medicine for relieving mild nervous tension and improving sleep, based on multiple randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trials, expert reports, sleep-EEG studies, and traditional use demonstrating gradual improvements in sleep and mild nervous tension symptoms. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>European Medicines Agency. Final assessment report on Valeriana officinalis L., radix and Valeriana officinalis L., aetheroleum. EMA/HMPC/150846/2015. Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC), 2 February 2016, pp. 40–56. Accessed 20 May 2025.</ref>

Germany’s Commission E, the scientific advisory board responsible for evaluating the safety and efficacy of herbal substances, has approved valerian as an effective mild sedative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Valerian has not been shown to be helpful in treating restless leg syndrome.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Oral forms

File:A bottle of Valerian capsules.jpg

A bottle of valerian capsules

Oral forms are available in both standardized and unstandardized forms. Standardized products may be preferable considering the wide variation of the chemicals in the dried root, as noted above. When standardized, it is done so as a percentage of valerenic acid or valeric acid. For commonly used doses, valerian is generally recognized as safe in the U.S.<ref name="drugs" />

Adverse effects

Because the compounds in valerian produce central nervous system depression, they should not be used with other depressants, such as ethanol (drinking alcohol), benzodiazepines, barbiturates, opiates, kava, or antihistamine drugs.<ref name="drugs" /><ref name="Klesper">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Wong">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Miller">Template:Cite journal</ref>

As an unregulated product, the concentration, contents, and potential contaminants in valerian preparations cannot be easily determined.<ref name="drugs" /><ref name="ods" /> Because of this uncertainty and the potential for toxicity in the fetus and hepatotoxicity in the mother, valerian use is discouraged during pregnancy.<ref name="drugs" /><ref name="Klesper" /><ref name="Wong" /> Headache and diarrhea have occurred among subjects using valerian in clinical studies.<ref name="drugs" />

Other uses

The young leaves can be cooked and the roots can be infused in hot beverages like hot chocolate.<ref name="tfb" />

In culture

File:Valeriana officinalis inflorescence - Niitvälja.jpg

Inflorescence

Valerian has been used in traditional herbal medicine since at least the times of ancient Greece and Rome.<ref name="ods" /> Hippocrates described its properties, and Galen later prescribed it as a remedy for insomnia.<ref name="ods" /> In medieval Sweden, it was sometimes placed in the wedding clothes of a bridegroom to ward off the "envy" of the elves.<ref>Thorpe, Benjamin (1851) Northern Mythology. Template:Cite web. Lumley. Vol. 2. pp. 64–65.</ref> In the 16th century, Pilgram Marpeck prescribed valerian tea for a sick woman.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

John Gerard's Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes, first published in 1597, states that his contemporaries found valerian "excellent for those burdened and for such as be troubled with croup and other like convulsions, and also for those that are bruised with falls". He says that the dried root was valued as a medicine by the poor in the north of England and the south of Scotland, such that "no brothes, pottages or phisicalle meates are woorth [worth] anything if Setwall [valerian] were not at one end".<ref name="Herball">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Grieve, Maud 1971">Template:Cite book</ref>

The 17th-century astrological botanist Nicholas Culpeper thought the plant was "under the influence of Mercury, and therefore hath a warming faculty". He recommended both herb and root, and said that "the root boiled with liquorice, raisons and aniseed is good for those troubled with cough. Also, it is of special value against the plague, the decoction thereof being drunk and the root smelled. The green herb being bruised and applied to the head taketh away pain and pricking thereof."<ref name="Grieve, Maud 1971" />

Gallery

• V. officinalis leaves
  V. officinalis leaves
• V. officinalis flowers
  V. officinalis flowers
• 19th-century illustration of Valeriana officinalis
  19th-century illustration of Valeriana officinalis
• Illustration of V. officinalis from Template:Lang, 1891
  Illustration of V. officinalis from Template:Lang, 1891
• V. officinalis
  V. officinalis
• V. officinalis foliage
  V. officinalis foliage

See also

• Orvietan
• Spikenard
• Corvalol

External links

• Valerian, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, US National Institutes of Health, October 2020