Valerian

Also called

All-Heal, Garden Heliotrope, Garden Valerian

Older scientific names

Valeriana exaltata J.C.Mikan ex Pohl, Valeriana sylvestris Garsault

Traditional use

These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.

• Valerian root has been part of official medicine for more than 240 years. It is traditionally seen as mildly calming, anxiety-easing and cramp-relieving. Its use differs by region: in Europe mainly for anxiety and restlessness, in the United States mainly to help with sleep, and in Brazilian traditional medicine to bring on sleep, prevent seizures and ease anxiety.[3]

  Technical detail: traditionally described as a mild sedative, anxiolytic and antispasmodic; in Brazil, hypnotic, anticonvulsant and anxiolytic.

Laboratory & animal research

Lab and animal results show what might be worth studying in people. They don't show that the herb has these effects in humans.

• Lab and animal studies suggest valerian and its natural compounds (such as valerenic acid) raise levels of GABA, a brain chemical that calms nerve activity, and act on GABA receptors. Separately, valerian acts on adenosine receptors, which help make us sleepy. In animals, valerian reduced anxious behavior without relaxing the muscles, reduced seizures, protected the brain after blocked blood flow, and changed stress-related brain chemicals. Researchers still disagree about which compounds are responsible, and some types of valerian with little valerenic acid have similar effects.[3]

  Technical detail: valerenic acid and valepotriates; GABA-transaminase inhibition; allosteric modulation of GABA-A receptors; adenosine A1 receptor activation; elevated plus-maze; no myorelaxant effect; neuroprotection against ischemic hippocampal damage; modulation of norepinephrine, serotonin and corticosterone in the amygdala and hippocampus.

Research in people

• Research on whether valerian helps sleep problems is inconsistent. In 2017, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommended against using valerian for long-term insomnia in adults. Overall, there isn't enough evidence to say whether valerian helps any health condition. Three small studies suggest it might help menopause symptoms, but that isn't certain. There isn't enough evidence to draw conclusions about anxiety, depression, PMS, period cramps or stress.[1]

• A 2020 review of 60 studies with 6,894 people found valerian gave a modest and inconsistent improvement in how well people felt they slept, and in anxiety. The effect on sleep was much stronger with the whole dried root than with extracts, which the authors put down to the uneven quality of extracts. They concluded the whole root is likely to give more reliable results. The review also reported possible benefits for obsessive-compulsive disorder, problems with thinking and memory, menopausal hot flashes and menstrual problems, but evidence in people for these is limited.[2]

  Technical detail: systematic review and meta-analysis; sleep quality 10 studies, n=1,065, effect size 0.36; anxiety 8 studies, n=535, effect size 0.36; whole root/rhizome effect size 0.83 vs. extracts 0.10.