Description. Valerian root is very well-known for its healing properties and health benefits. It is used to make tea, extracts, infusions, and essential oils. Everybody knows that valerian root has a calming effect – it alleviates nervous tension and can eliminate cramps – but this plant can also help you deal with various diseases, including serious conditions. The biological effect of valerian root is provided by the complex of substances contained in the plant’s rhizome and roots. For therapeutic purposes, remedies with valerian root have been used since the 1st century BC. As for modern use, it has been experimentally proven that valerian root enhances inhibitory processes, reduces reflex excitability, and relaxes the spasms of smooth muscles – that’s why it is used as a sedative medicine. It helps alleviate insomnia, nervous excitement, neurosis, epilepsy, nervous shock and severe anxiety. It also can be used to fight such conditions as spasms of coronary vessels, migraine, and constipation.
Use. Valerian root is prescribed for insomnia, increased excitability of the nervous system, neurosis, vegetative-vascular dystonia, as well as at the early stages of angina pectoris and hypertension. In traditional medicine, valerian root is believed to aid proper digestion. It relieves spasms of the stomach and intestines. Powdered valerian root is effective in dealing with scarlet fever and pneumonia. Valerian root is also successfully used for thyroid diseases. An infusion of the root is prescribed for the rush of blood to the head, especially in menopausal women.