Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) – Botany, Therapeutic Uses, Constituents, Pharmaco, Adverse Effects

Various rituals and remedies are employed for treating anxiety and insomnia. Among these are warm milk, soft music, soothing background noise, yoga, and aroma therapy. However, in centuries past the most popular approach was the consumption of agents believed to relieve tension, including valerian. The historical interest in calming agents is evidenced by the immediate, and ongoing, popularity of fermented alcoholic beverages, which were first produced in China and the Mideast 9,000 years ago. The more potent distilled spirits came later, with the arrival of alchemy in southern Italy during the twelfth century AD. Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, the pharmacologically active constituent of these beverages, belongs to a drug class known as central nervous system depressants.

By reducing brain activity, such agents decrease anxiety (anxiolytic effect) and induce a feeling of drowsiness (hypnotic effect). Besides alcohol, other central nervous system depressants are the barbiturates, such as phenobarbital and thiopental, and the benzodiazepines, as exemplified by chlordiazepoxide (Librium®) and diazepam (Valium®).

The popularity of valerian root extract is linked directly to its perceived efficacy as an anxiolytic and hypnotic. Evidence of its utility in this regard can be traced to the dawn of man, with archeologists finding remnants of the valerian plant in southern European caves formerly occupied by Cro-Magnon, the earliest Homo sapiens. This indicates that ancient humans consumed this plant, no doubt for its nutritional value, but also perhaps for its calming properties.

Written records prove the medicinal properties of valerian were appreciated by ancient civilizations. Mentioned by the Greek physician Hippocrates and, later, by Galen, a Roman physician and scientist, this herb is described as a treatment for insomnia. Although valerian has for thousands of years been used to treat many conditions, its use as an anxiolytic and hypnotic has withstood the test of time. Because its calming action has been appreciated for millennia, it seems likely that constituents of valerian noticeably affect brain function when consumed in sufficient quantities. A pharmacological analysis of the published reports tends to support this conclusion.