Valerian Materia Medica

Valerian has been used as a medicinal herb since at least the time of ancient Greece and Rome. Hippocrates described its therapeutic actions, and Galen prescribed it often for insomnia. In medieval Sweden, valerian root was placed in the wedding clothes of the groom to ward off the envy of elves.

Valerian root, a potent analgesic, nervine, stimulant, carminative and antispasmodic, acts upon brain and nervous system. Some studies have demonstrated that valerian extracts interact with the GABA (gammaaminobutyric acid) receptors. Neurons that produce GABA, called GABAergic neurons, exert an inhibitory action upon the nervous system.

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