Tagara (Indian valerian)
Valeriana wallichii
Photo credit: Daderot
Safety information
Safety information
Toxicity: Low at usual doses; sedating. Valepotriates are cytotoxic/alkylating in vitro — fresh/standardized low-valepotriate material preferred and high-dose long-term use discouraged.
Contraindications: With sedatives/alcohol/CNS depressants; before driving/operating machinery; pregnancy and lactation (insufficient data — caution); before surgery (sedative additive).
Interactions: Sedatives, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, alcohol, anesthetics (additive CNS depression); caution with CNS drugs.
Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Pregnancy and lactation: insufficient data — caution.
Evidence level
Supported by clinical trials in humans.
Preparations
decoction · rhizome/root
Part used: rhizome/root
medicated oil · rhizome/root
Part used: rhizome/root
powder · rhizome/root
Part used: rhizome/root
Traditional use: insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, nervous disorders
Proposed mechanism: valepotriates, valerenic-acid-type sesquiterpenes, essential oil — GABAergic sedative, anxiolytic, antispasmodic
Associated conditions
Nutritional notes
Not a food source.
Healing traditions
Sources (1)
- Sharma 2015, Ayu (comparative insomnia study) (PMID 26730138)