Valerian Root

Written by National Institutes of Health

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Detailed information on valerian root to treat insomnia and sleep disorders, including side-effects of valerian.

Questions and Answers About Valerian for Insomnia and Other Sleep Disorders

Table of Contents

Key points

This fact sheet provides an overview of the use of valerian for insomnia and other sleep disorders and contains the following key information:

Valerian is an herb sold as a dietary supplement in the United States.
Valerian is a common ingredient in products promoted as mild sedatives and sleep aids for nervous tension and insomnia.
Evidence from clinical studies of the efficacy of valerian in treating sleep disorders such as insomnia is inconclusive.
Constituents of valerian have been shown to have sedative effects in animals, but there is no scientific agreement on valerian's mechanisms of action.
Although few adverse events have been reported, long-term safety data are not available.

What is valerian?

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis), a member of the Valerianaceae family, is a perennial plant native to Europe and Asia and naturalized in North America [1]. It has a distinctive odor that many find unpleasant [2,3]. Other names include setwall (English), Valerianae radix (Latin), Baldrianwurzel (German), and phu (Greek). The genus Valerian includes over 250 species, but V. officinalis is the species most often used in the United States and Europe and is the only species discussed in this fact sheet [3,4].

What are common valerian preparations?

Preparations of valerian marketed as dietary supplements are made from its roots, rhizomes (underground stems), and stolons (horizontal stems). Dried roots are prepared as teas or tinctures, and dried plant materials and extracts are put into capsules or incorporated into tablets [5].

There is no scientific agreement as to the active constituents of valerian, and its activity may result from interactions among multiple constituents rather than any one compound or class of compounds [6]. The content of volatile oils, including valerenic acids; the less volatile sesquiterpenes; or the valepotriates (esters of short-chain fatty acids) is sometimes used to standardize valerian extracts. As with most herbal preparations, many other compounds are also present.

Valerian is sometimes combined with other botanicals [5]. Because this fact sheet focuses on valerian as a single ingredient, only clinical studies evaluating valerian as a single agent are included.

What are the historical uses of valerian?

Valerian has been used as a medicinal herb since at least the time of ancient Greece and Rome. Its therapeutic uses were described by Hippocrates, and in the 2nd century, Galen prescribed valerian for insomnia [5,7]. In the 16th century, it was used to treat nervousness, trembling, headaches, and heart palpitations [8]. In the mid-19th century, valerian was considered a stimulant that caused some of the same complaints it is thought to treat and was generally held in low esteem as a medicinal herb [2]. During World War II, it was used in England to relieve the stress of air raids [9].

In addition to sleep disorders, valerian has been used for gastrointestinal spasms and distress, epileptic seizures, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, scientific evidence is not sufficient to support the use of valerian for these conditions [10].

References