Witnessed by: TCM · Western · Unani
Valerian (Valeriana officinalis), of the Caprifoliaceae (formerly Valerianaceae) family. Tall perennial herb of pinnate leaves and domed pink-white flower-heads over a short aromatic rootstock; native range: Damp meadows and stream-banks across Europe and temperate Asia. Globally recognized as xie cao (缬草) in Chinese, sumbul-ut-teeb / balchhar in Arabic, and valerian, all-heal, garden heliotrope, setwall, phu in English. The part used is root and rhizome. Pale knotty rhizome with many pale rootlets; on drying develops the characteristic heavy, musky, 'dirty-sock' valerianic scent that cats adore; warm, bitter, faintly camphoraceous taste.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
VALERIAN
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Valerian
- Scientific name
- Valeriana officinalis L.
- Family
- Caprifoliaceae (formerly Valerianaceae)
Form
- Part used
- root and rhizome
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent · bitter
- Western
- bitter · aromatic · acrid
- Unani
- pungent · bitter
Temperature
TCM: warm
Western: warm
Unani: hot (& dry, 2nd degree)
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses read it warming — an aromatic nervine that relaxes and warms the nerves
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Heart · Liver
- Western
- nervous system · nerves · heart
- Unani
- brain · nerves · heart
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- calms the spirit, moves and regulates qi and blood, dispels wind-damp and relieves pain
- Western
- nervine relaxant, sedative and hypnotic, antispasmodic, anxiolytic, mild hypotensive, carminative
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-dimagh (nervine and brain tonic), musakkin (sedative), mufarreh (exhilarant), muharrik-e-asab, kaasir-e-riyah (carminative)
Cautions
Contraindications: not with other sedatives or before driving; paradoxical stimulation in a minority; abrupt withdrawal after long high-dose use
Toxicity: low; large doses may leave grogginess, headache or, in some, a stimulant restlessness
Interactions
- Western
- sedatives / CNS depressants: additive central sedation (benzodiazepines, barbiturates, alcohol, anaesthesia)
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