Talk:Valerian (herb)

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[edit] Valerian in Agatha Christie novels

It says citation is needed. I know that one book at least mentions this, Five Little Pigs, and it is mentioned in the article. I am not sure how to cite this properly. I hope to eventually read the 2nd novel, and cite them both here then. olya 05:58, 6 May 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Kierkegaard

I just read that Kierkegaard (the Danish philosopher) took Valerian late in his life, while he was hospitalized: http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/articles/050328crbo_books

[edit] strangeness

An anon keeps putting the following phrase into the article:

May produce sensations of "strangeness" in some individuals. These persons should not use valerian.

This statement is also found on several other non-wikipedia websites, word for word or nearly so. Questions and Answers About Valerian for Insomnia and Other Sleep Disorders Office of Dietary Supplements * National Institutes of Health notes that problems have been reported in clinical trials, but not confirmed as being due to valerian. A very old reference, A Compend of Materia Medica, Therapeutics, and Prescription Writing by Sam'l O. L. Potter, M.D., M.R.C.P.L., 1902., notes that it can cause "mental disturbance" which can "proceed even to delirium, while hallucinations and excitement are usually produced, together with great restlessness and spasmodic movements of the limbs." -- WormRunner | Talk 20:47, 24 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Effects

Most individuals will find Valerian has little/no effect. It is mainly placebo.

Useful how that doesnt have a source.. also, why does it say it isn't linked to Valium? By that standard should it also say that it isn't related to every other drug or herb that it isn't related to? I'm sure the average user isn't going to make a semantic link between them... He who says zonk 14:23, 13 November 2005 (UTC)
The idea that valerian is a placebo is ridiculous. The valium/valerian semantic link however is a common mistake among beginner gardeners/herbalists in my experience. -- WormRunner | Talk 19:53, 13 November 2005 (UTC)
I have to say that I always thought that. Calming herb beginning val-, calming drug beginning val-, surely that couldn't be a coincidence? So I think it's worth specifying that it is. Daibhid C 16:28, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

Valerian root does have verifiable sedative properties. My own anecdotal experience confirms this, and it also has a tendency to induce vivid dreams.

I'd have to say that the statement "it's just a placebo" is false. I use it to get to sleep when I am stressed out and it's a great alternative to to using Xanax for panic attacks. However when I use Valerian or any other drug/supplement to get me to sleep, I usually don't have or can't remember my dreams, unlike the person who posted above me.

The above comment about "placebo" is nonsense; valerian is one of the few herbal remedies that has had serious scientific studies that consistently show it has at least SOME effect on insomnia and anxiety, although the effects are mild. It occasionally works very well for this commenter. HOWEVER, I find that commercial preparations of valerian vary widely in strength and efficacy. No doubt manufacturers are sometimes "cutting" it with something else that's inert, although I don't know why they would. 128.230.239.88 (talk) 18:23, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

There is nothing here to contradict the original poster's suggestion that valerian is no more than a placebo. Indeed, most of the disagreements seem to suggest that the posters don't know how placebos work (and they DO work - very well).
For two authoratative reviews of studies which concludes that there is little or no evidence for valerian's effectiveness as a drug, see http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band81/b81-7.html and
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/valerian.asp . Cooke (talk) 20:54, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Valium

Any reason for the anti-confusion Valium note? I really can't see anyone making this connection, any more than thinking the drug is called "Valium" because it's a good "value". Any objections to removing it? Alvis 02:33, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

I object. Just because you can't see anyone making that connection does not mean it has not been made. I have corrected people confused on this point more than a few times. -- WormRunner 03:16, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
Fair enough. I've never ran into anyone who's made that confusion, but if they're out there, then let's leave it in. Alvis 05:07, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

I took it for the first time last night (9-4-06) on the advice of my mother-in-law. I can confirm the anecdotal report of vivid dreams. The most vivid of my life, the scariest of my life and the first "wet dream" since my adolescent days. I will never take it again as I am still anxious 3 hours after waking.

Was that valium or valerian that caused the dreams and the errr accident?--I don't like football 03:45, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] St. Valerian

Is it named after St. Valerian (perhaps because of when it blooms, like St. John's Wort)? That would be a good thing to add to the Valerian/Valium note. Also, the St. Valerian article is a major stub. Snowboardpunk


[edit] Effects on Cats and Rats

Its a small thing I know but i cringe every time I see or hear 'so much so...' as in "Valerian is also very attractive to rats, so much so that it has been used to bait traps." its just sounds like the author (no discredit to you) just couldn't think up the best words to express the sentence. Perhaps ' Rats are highly attracted to it, to the extent that it has been used as rat trap bait' or somthing along those lines maybe. --I don't like football 03:42, 9 January 2007 (UTC) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My Personal experience with this,

I took it for the first time Sunday, and again today, the calming effect came on smooth and subtle, and faded away a few hours later just the same. I am not taking this to help me sleep, I am taking it to try to prevent another panic/anxiety attack from occuring. which I had went to the ER for a few weeks ago. I want to try an herbal route before I end up having to take some prescription pill like atavan every day for the rest of my life. I dont want that, and I would rather have tried everything else first.

Valerian root , and valium, have NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER, chemically or otherwise. The only thing similar between the 2 is the letters VAL in the names. thats it.

I'm only on day 2 of this stuff, (500mg Sundown Brand, capsules ) It could be in my head, or it could be physical, but I did feel pretty relaxed about 45 minutes after taking one pill. not to the point of laying down, just ..relaxed.. peaceful. I felt good. Again, it could be in my head, it could be from the pill. A few more days and I will have a better idea if Valerian Root is a joke or has some real effects.

John L

valium and valerian affect the same receptors in the brain, but the names have no relation, if you want natrual valium try a potato. also what if you drank alcohol while on valerian?

[edit] Proposed merger

I propose that Valerian (medication) and Valerian (plant) be merged into a new page "Valerian".—Who123 18:33, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Due to the clear redundancy of the two articles and lack of response, I will probably proceed with the merger. Any help is appreciated. If the page "Valerian" is not available then "Valerian (herb)" may be used. Any suggestions on the page name would be appreciated.—Who123 12:21, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
Merger begun under the page name Valerian (herb).—Who123 14:14, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
Although the merger is complete, there is still cleanup to do. For example, I included all of the articles that linked to the article before the merger in "See also". I will help with this as time allows.—Who123 14:51, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
Greetings! I'm not sure anyone saw your proposed merger before you completed it. I happened along from patrolling the Plant articles by quality log. Proposed mergers and things of that nature can also be discussed at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Plants. (Why not join our project if you haven't already?) As for the merger, I didn't take the time to see if the two articles were redundant, but in general things of this nature should be guided by the flora naming convention. The preference in this case is to have two separate articles--one to describe the plant product or use in society (such as coffee) and another to describe the species that are used to create the familiar product (i.e. Coffea arabica). For example, aside from the taxobox, this article really doesn't discuss the plant at all. I would remove the taxobox from this page and create the Valeriana officinalis article to discuss the botanical history, taxonomy, species description, etc. there. Durian is another great example of a page that would benefit from splitting. In fact, I should go work on that. Cheers, --Rkitko (talk) 05:57, 21 April 2007 (UTC)
Hi! The two articles were redundant. I suspect that most of the general public interest in Valerian is as an herb rather than as a plant. It is similar to St John's wort in this respect. Although I like plants, my interest leans more to how they can be used in health and nutrition. If you wish to create a Valeriana officinalis article to discuss the pure botanical aspects that seems reasonable. I find it odd to have the boxes at the top of this page saying that this article is part of Plants and Cats projects. Perhaps they should be removed?—Who123 16:23, 22 April 2007 (UTC)
That's fine, then. For now it can stay as one article, but perhaps it would be pertinent to move toward the goal of having two articles and then removing the taxobox from this one. It doesn't matter what your interests in plants are--it matters more what is considered to be encyclopedic when thinking about inclusion. Botanical information is certainly encyclopedic. The project tags are used by WikiProjects to assess and keep track of article progress. They are very important. Cheers, --Rkitko (talk) 01:50, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mechanism of Action

There is a paper out (Khom et al. 2007, Neuropharmacology, doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2007.04.018) reporting that valerenic acid has a stimulatory effect on GABAA receptors containing β2 subunits, similar to that of barbiturates. In contrast to barbiturates, however, high concentrations of valerenic acid block the receptor. This may explain its mechanism of action and why it is much less toxic than barbiturates. GABA itslef won't cross the blood-brain barrier and therefore the high GABA content in valerian cannot explain its mechanism of action in vivo. 193.171.174.141 13:06, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] booze antidote

i have taken valerian after drinking and it seems to reverse the effects of alcohol, 3 valerians (500mg) seemed to reverse all of the effects of 2 shots of whisky. maybe it antagonises whichever receptor alcohol binds to, it maybe reduce the effects of anxiogenic chemicals in the brain. —Preceding unsigned comment added by The Right Honourable (talk • contribs) 05:57, 6 September 2007 (UTC)