Valerian medicinal – High perennial herbaceous plant from the Valerian family (Valerianaceae). Other names: pharmacy valerian, medicinal maun, oxtail, feverish root, earthen incense, averian, koshatnik, cat root, etc.
Description of valerian officinalis:
The stem is straight, ribbed, hollow inside 0.5-1.5 cm tall, the rhizome is short, thick, vertical, planted with numerous roots that emit a specific smell. Leaves unpaired-pinnate, lower ones on long petioles with 4-12 pairs of lateral leaflets; lateral leaflets sessile, lanceolate, coarsely dentate along the edges., 3-8 cm long and 0.5-2 cm wide. The upper leaves are sessile or on short semi-amplex petioles with 3-4 pairs of lateral leaflets. The flowers are whitish-pink, fragrant, small, collected in several corymbose inflorescences on the apical branches. The calyx is inconspicuous during flowering; corolla funnel-shaped with 5-lobed limb; stamens 3, ovary inferior, style with tripartite stigma. The fruit is a compressed, oblong achene within 3 mm in length, equipped with a feathery tuft. Valerian blooms in June-August. Grows in swampy meadows, coastal shrubs, damp ditches, forest streams, alder forests. It occurs throughout the CIS, often in small quantities or singly, rarely forming thickets. In more or less significant quantities found in the Minsk region. – Nesvizh district (meadow near the village of Dubenki), Krupsky district (meadows near the villages of Dudari and Pasynkovichi), Ostrovets district (north-western shore of Lake Naroch), Dzerzhinsky district (near Dzerzhinsk, meadow near the village of Bakinovo); in the Vitebsk region – southwestern shore of Lukoml lake; in the Grodno region – floodplain meadows along the river. Share in the vicinity of Slonim; in the Gomel region – Kalinkovichi district (meadows of Pripyat near the village of Yurevichi, swampy willow forests along the railway line Rechitsa – Vasilevichi), the vicinity of Lake Chyrvonae, Polesie; in the Brest region – along the reclamation canal near Zavischansky Lake, 25 km southwest of Pinsk,
Preparation of valerian:
In medicine, rhizomes with roots are used – Rhizoma cum radicibus Valerianae. They are collected in autumn (September-October), when the ground part of the plant withers, but dried stems with shields remain. The plant is dug up with shovels or pitchforks, shaken off the ground, the ground part is cut off at the very base of the rhizome (at the root collar). Thick rhizomes are cut lengthwise into two or four parts, and then quickly washed in cold water. So that the valerian thickets do not disappear, the raw materials are collected after the seeding of the plants. Harvesting at the same place is not carried out every year. The collection can be repeated only after 1-2 years. Before drying, the valerian rhizomes are laid out in a layer no more than 15 cm thick and left for 1-2 days under a canopy or in a ventilated room for withering. At this time, enzymatic processes take place in the rhizomes, As a result, they acquire a strong smell. Dry in attics, laying out in a thin layer, in well-ventilated rooms or in dryers at a temperature not exceeding 35-40 degrees. Valerian rhizomes will need to be turned frequently during drying. The raw material consists of short, upright rhizomes with numerous adventitious roots. Rhizomes with a loose core are often hollow inside, with several transverse partitions, whole or cut; ground stems cut off at the very base; roots 6-15 cm long and within 2 mm in diameter, smooth, yellow-brown outside. The smell is strong, peculiar, the taste is spicy, sweetish-bitter. Valerian rhizomes will need to be turned frequently during drying. The raw material consists of short, upright rhizomes with numerous adventitious roots. Rhizomes with a loose core are often hollow inside, with several transverse partitions, whole or cut; ground stems cut off at the very base; roots 6-15 cm long and within 2 mm in diameter, smooth, yellow-brown outside. The smell is strong, peculiar, the taste is spicy, sweetish-bitter. Valerian rhizomes will need to be turned frequently during drying. The raw material consists of short, upright rhizomes with numerous adventitious roots. Rhizomes with a loose core are often hollow inside, with several transverse partitions, whole or cut; ground stems cut off at the very base; roots 6-15 cm long and within 2 mm in diameter, smooth, yellow-brown outside. The smell is strong, peculiar, the taste is spicy, sweetish-bitter. externally smooth, yellow-brown. The smell is strong, peculiar, the taste is spicy, sweetish-bitter. externally smooth, yellow-brown. The smell is strong, peculiar, the taste is spicy, sweetish-bitter.
Contains active substances:
The rhizomes and roots of valerian contain 0.5-2% essential oil, consisting of an ester of borneol and isovaleric acid, camphene, pinene and other terpenes. The essential oil is found more in the roots. In addition to the essential oil, there is free valeric acid, alkaloids valerin and hatinin, volatile bases, perryl-α-methyl ketone, valerin glycoside, etc. The therapeutic effect of valerian is due to the complex of active substances contained in it.
Medicinal use:
Avleryan preparations reduce the excitability of the central nervous system (CNS) and have antispasmodic properties. They are used as a sedative (calming) remedy for nervous excitement, insomnia, neuroses of the cardiovascular system, for spasms of the gastrointestinal tract, etc. In folk medicine, they use tincture of valerian root on vodka or water decoctions as a heart sedative, for nervous breakdown , headache, as appetizing, from bites by rabid animals, with cancer; restless babies are bathed in water decoction to sleep well, from abdominal pain, from fever, worms, diarrhea, hysteria, convulsions, typhoid fever, and epilepsy.