Valerian, Valerian (Latin Valeriána) – a genus of perennial herbaceous plants of the subfamily Valerian (Valerianoideae) of the family Honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae), including more than two hundred species. The most famous species is Valeriana officinalis (Valeriana officinalis L.), which is widely used as a medicine.
Valerian officinalis (Valeriána officinális L.) or Indian Valerian, Valerian Valichi (Valeriana wallichii) (from Latin valere – to be healthy, officinalis, e – pharmacy). A herbaceous perennial (in the culture of a biennial) from the Valerianov family – Valerianaceae with a short vertical rhizome covered with numerous thin, cord-like roots.
Valerian Valichi is a perennial herbaceous plant, reaches a height of 1.5 (1.2-1.8) m.
Rhizome – short, thick (up to 4 cm long, up to 3 cm thick), with a loose core, often hollow, with transverse septa. From the rhizome, numerous thin subordinate roots depart from all sides, sometimes underground shoots – stolons. The roots are often separated from the rhizome, smooth, brittle, up to 3 cm thick, up to 10-12 cm long. The color of the rhizome and the roots outside is yellowish brown, at the fracture – yellowish to brown. The smell is strong, fragrant. The taste of the water extract is spicy, slightly bitter.
The stem is erect, arched, furrowed, branched closer to the inflorescence. On one bush, several stems develop.
Leaves: lower and middle – long-leaved, upper – sessile, opposite, sometimes alternate or collected three to four in whorls, pinnately dissected.
The flowers are fragrant, small, up to 4 mm in diameter, bisexual, with a double perianth, white, pale purple or pinkish, collected in large apical and axillary corymbose or paniculate branched inflorescences. The corolla is funnel-shaped, with a five-blade bend. Three stamens. Blooms from the second year of life almost all summer.
Pollen grains are three-furrowed, spherical-flattened. The length of the polar axis is 37.4–46.2 μm, the equatorial diameter is 41.8–50.6 μm (without spikes). In outline, they are rounded triangular from the pole, and widely elliptical from the equator. Furrows are 8-12 microns wide, short, the edges are uneven, the ends are blunted; the membrane of the furrows is covered with an unevenly granular sculpture. The width of the mesocolpium is 30.8–39.6 μm, and the diameter of the apocolpium is 12–18 μm. Exine up to 3 microns thick (without spikes), the core layer is visible. The sculpture is prickly, spikes with a wide base, with drawn and thinly pointed ends up to 1.5 microns high. The diameter of the base of the spikes is 1-1.2 microns, the distance between them is 1-4 microns. The texture is grainy. Yellow pollen.
The fruit is an achene, ripens in August – September. The weight of a thousand seeds (fruits) is 0.4-0.5 g.
The homeland of Valerian Valichi is the Mediterranean. Distributed in the temperate and subtropical zones, including almost the entire European part of Russia.
It grows in swampy and lowland meadows, on grassy and peat bogs, along the banks of reservoirs, among bushes, in glades and edges. Introduced into the culture, and the need for Valerian officinalis as a medicinal raw material is met by cultivating this plant on plantations.
For medical purposes, use the rhizome and roots of the plant. It is used as a sedative and as an antispasmodic (for smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and urinary system). It also has a choleretic effect, increases the secretion of the gastrointestinal tract, dilates the coronary vessels.
Chemical composition
Rhizomes with valerian roots contain up to 2% of essential oil, which includes boronyl valerianate, isovalerianic acid, borneol, pinene, terpineol, sesquiterpenoids (valerenal, valerenone), as well as free valerian and valerenone acids, from 0.8 to 2.5% valepotriates (valtrate, isovovaltrate, acetyvaltrate, dihydrovolate, isovaleroxydehydrate vratrate, valeredine, valechlorin, 7-deacetylated valtrate), triterpene glycosides, tannins, alkaloids, organic acids, free amines.
Apply rhizomes with the roots of Valerian Valichi in the form of infusion, decoction, tincture, extract as a sedative to the nervous system, for nervous excitement, cardiovascular neurosis, spasms of the coronary vessels, insomnia, as an antispastic agent for spasms of the internal organs, for the treatment of neurodermatitis; rhizomes with roots are part of sedative and gastric collections, in addition, Valerian preparations are included in complex therapeutic agents.
Preparations and medicinal raw materials from Valerian are included in almost all pharmacopeias. It is used in homeopathy.
It is part of Sobereks ultra.