Valerian Oil

Botanical Name of Valerian:  Valeriana officinalis

Synonyms:  garden valerian, garden heliotrope and all-heal

About Valerian: This is a perennial plant which bears scented pink and white flowers which bloom in summers. Valerina officinalis is known to be native of European and Asian regions which now gradually have spread to other parts of the world including United Sates of America. This herb has been traditionally used as a medicinal plant and is considered to have healing powers which can cure many ailments. Readers are requested not to confuse Valeriana Officinalis with ‘red valerian’ which is also sometimes referred to as valerian.

History of Valerian: First instances of Valerian have been found in ancient Greek and Roman civilizations where the valerian flowers used as medicinal herbs. This herb was then mainly used to treat insomnia. During the medieval period Valerian was placed in Groom’s clothes in Swedish wedding to ward off envy. During 16^th century Valerian Tea was prescribed for sick women. Dietary supplements prepared from the roots of this plant were also very popular. These roots also are the main source of Valerian essential oil.

Properties of Valerian Oil: Dried roots of Valerianca officinalis are steam distilled to extract essential oil from them. Average yield of this oil is in the range of about 0.8 percentages. The colour of this essential oil ranges from yellowish green to brownish yellow. The smell of this oil is extremely pungent and is similar to that of a well matured cheese. The major chemical constituents of this oil include: actinidine, chatinine, shyanthine, valerine, valerianine, Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), isovaleric acid, iridoids, sesquiterpines, linarin, etc.

Health Benefits and Applications Valerian Oil:

Valerian Oil is known to have number of benefits, some of the important ones include:

Sedative: Valerian essential oil is sedative in nature. Number of studies conducted to demonstrate its sedative effects prove that it can help in sleep latency, wake up time after sleep, frequency of waking up during sleep and quality of sleep. What makes it even better is that it is non-addictive in nature and has no morning hangovers.

Anti Spasmodic: This essential oil is well known to treat abdominal cramps which are due to nervousness. Other muscular tensions or cramps could also be relieved by use of this oil.

Anti dysmenorrhoea: Use of Valerian oil is also quite effective in treatment of migraine and rheumatic pains.

Stress Relief: Valerian essential oil has mild tranquilizing effect which is helpful for treating emotional stress and anxiety.  Patients already using anti-depressant drugs are use this oil to get them away from these drugs.

Insomnia: Traditionally this oil is also been used to treat patients of insomnia and known to be effective in such a treatment.

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