This includes the 5-HT 5A which is implicated in the sleep-wake cycle. Valerenic acid in valerian stimulates GABA(A) and serotonin receptors as a positive allosteric modulator and partial agonist, respectively. Hydrophilic extractions of the herb commonly sold over the counter, however, probably do not contain significant amounts of isovaltrate. Valerian also contains isovaltrate, which has been shown to be an inverse agonist for adenosine A 1 receptor sites. Valproic acid, a widely prescribed anticonvulsant, is a derivative of valeric acid. Valeric acid, which is responsible for the typical odor of mostly older valerian roots, does not have any sedative properties. Flavanones: hesperidin, 6-methyl apigenin, and linarin īecause of valerian's historical use in traditional medicine for diverse purposes, such as for sedation or pain relief, laboratory research has been directed at the GABA A receptor, a class of receptors on which benzodiazepines act.Sesquiterpenes (contained in the volatile oil): valerenic acid, hydroxyvalerenic acid and acetoxyvalerenic acid.Iridoids, including valepotriates: isovaltrate and valtrate.Isovaleramide may be created in the extraction process.Alkaloids: actinidine, chatinine, shyanthine, valerianine, and valerine.Known compounds detected in valerian include: It is also called cat's love for its catnip-like effects. Red valerian, often grown in gardens, is also sometimes referred to as "valerian", but is a different species ( Centranthus ruber), from the same family but not very closely related.
Other names used for this plant include garden valerian (to distinguish it from other Valeriana species), garden heliotrope (although not related to Heliotropium), setwall and all-heal (which is also used for plants in the genus Stachys). The name of the herb is derived from the personal name Valeria and the Latin verb valere (to be strong, healthy). The green herb being bruised and applied to the head taketh away pain and pricking thereof." Etymology and common names Also, it is of special value against the plague, the decoction thereof being drunk and the root smelled. The 17th century astrological botanist Nicholas Culpeper thought the plant was "under the influence of Mercury, and therefore hath a warming faculty." He recommended both herb and root, and said that "the root boiled with liquorice, raisons and aniseed is good for those troubled with cough. John Gerard's Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes, first published in 1597, states that his contemporaries found valerian "excellent for those burdened and for such as be troubled with croup and other like convulsions, and also for those that are bruised with falls." He says that the dried root was valued as a medicine by the poor in the north of England and the south of Scotland, such that "no brothes, pottages or phisicalle meates are woorth anything if Setwall were not at one end." In the 16th century, Pilgram Marpeck prescribed valerian tea for a sick woman. In medieval Sweden, it was sometimes placed in the wedding clothes of the groom to ward off the "envy" of the elves. Hippocrates described its properties, and Galen later prescribed it as a remedy for insomnia. Valerian has been used as a herb in traditional medicine since at least the time of ancient Greece and Rome.