Valerian entered the Pharmacopoeia as a tranquilizer in 1820 and remained there until 1942. It was listed in the National Formulary, the pharmacists' guide, until 1950. All parts of valerian contain chemicals that appear to have sedative properties known as valepotriates, but they occur in highest concentration in the roots.

VALERIAN (Valeriana officinalis)

Back in the 13th century, the elders of Hamelin, Germany, decided to rid their town of rats. They contracted with an itinerant flute player, one Pied Piper, whose music attracted the rodents, allowing him to lead them out of town. But when the Pied Piper returned for his fee, the elders of Hamelin refused to pay him. In revenge, he used his flute to charm Hamelin's children away forever. In modern versions of this story, the Pied Piper's powers were entirely musical. But early German folklore credited him with being an accomplished herbalist as well. In addition to his hypnotic flute playing, the Pied Piper charmed both rats and children with hypnotic valerian root.

The term Valeriana first appeared around the 10th century and it is said by some to have been named after Valerius, who first used it in medicine. Other sources say the name derives from the Latin valere, to be strong or healthy. Medieval herbalists called the plant "capon's tail" which has rather fantastically been explained as a reference to its spreading head of whitish flowers. Valerian has a disagreeable odor. Ancient Greeks and Romans named the plant phu (which could be where we got our word to remark on a bad smell). Dioscorides recommended valerian as a diuretic and antidote to poisons. Pliny considered it a pain reliever. Galen prescribed it as a decongestant. By the time the plant name became valerian, early European herbalists considered it a panacea. The German abbess/herbalist Hildegard of Bingen recommended the herb as a tranquilizer and sleep aid about a hundred years before the Pied Piper used it as a hypnotic.

Valerian entered the Pharmacopoeia as a tranquilizer in 1820 and remained there until 1942. It was listed in the National Formulary, the pharmacists' guide, until 1950. All parts of valerian contain chemicals that appear to have sedative properties known as valepotriates, but they occur in highest concentration in the roots. Some researchers have compared valerian to benzodiazepines such as Valium; however, valerian is a much milder and safer sedative. Valerian is not addictive and discontinuation produces no withdrawal symptoms. Valerian doesn't cause morning grogginess and, when used by pregnant women, has not been linked to any birth defects.

Animal studies show valerian reduces blood pressure and suggest that it has anti- convulsant effects. One day it may play a role in treating epilepsy. Valerian is included in the Food and Drug Administration's list of herbs generally considered as safe, although large amounts may cause headache, giddiness, blurred vision, restlessness, nausea, and morning grogginess. The plant is found throughout Europe and northern Asia, and is common in England in marshy thickets and along ditches and rivers, where its tall stems may generally be seen in the summer towering above the usual herbage.

Other members of its family include spikenard and Jacob's ladder. Medicinal valerian is a hardy perennial that reaches about five feet. Its medicinal roots consist of long, cylindrical fibers from its rhizome. Its stem is erect, grooved, and hollow, and its leaves are fernlike. Valerian's white, pink, or lavender flowers develop in umbrella-like clusters, blooming from late spring through summer. It may be propagated from seeds or root divisions.

Thanks to Andi Metcalfe for this report on valerian. Her sources were The Healing Herbs by Michael Castleman, A Modern Herbal, by Mrs. M. Grieve, and www.botanical.com.

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