Valarian
Phew, that's
what Greek physicians in first century called the valerian root.
I can understand why: the smell is somewhat reminiscent
of cat urine. But you know what? Apparently rats like it.
In the 13th century the legendary Pied Piper of Hamelin
used a fragrance of Valerian to lure rats out of the little village.
The elders of the town should have paid him for the services.
Apparently they didn't, so he ended up luring their children away.
Well, I'm sure he didn't do that with Valerian root.
Valerian,
however, is a very interesting plant. It's also known as
the garden heliotrope. And it has a legendary use as a tranquilizing
agent and as a sleeping inducing agent. Notice that
the word shares something with the drug - a name, valium, valerian.
Well the name may be similar but the chemistry isn't. The
active ingredients of valerian are quite different from what we
have in valium, however, there may be one common feature.
Both of these seem to induce a formation of GABA; gamma-aminobutanoic
acid, in the nervous system, particularly in the brain.
And this chemical has been linked with tranquilizing effects,
and also with sedation and with sleep. In fact in the 18th
century, physicians were already recommending valerian root to
calm people down, so they would not be agitated, and they also
recommended that it would be used for feminine irritations, whatever
that might be. There may have been some science there, but
there was not a whole lot.
But there
is some interesting stuff about valerian to be sure. Anecdotal
evidence? Well about 89% of patients in a French study suggested
they slept better and felt calmer once they had taken valerian.
Interesting thing is that objective studies do not bear this out.
When brain waves were examined they did not reflect the better
sleep patterns. But maybe, brain waves don't exactly measure what
we think they measure. Indeed in Europe many physicians
prescribe valerian to their patients who complain of anxiety and
who can't sleep very well. For someone who has mild problems
like that, valerian is worth a try.
Researchers
at Proctor and Gamble sure think so. They've come up with
a little recipe that can be added to steam ironing mixtures.
Why? So that when you're ironing away, you get the waft
of valerian in the air to calm you down. What else can it
do? Well, maybe attract a few rats? If you get anxious
about that, well, take some valerian.
