A COMPREHENSIVE PHARMACOGNOSTIC REPORT ON VALERIAN

Herbalism is a traditional medicine practice based on the utilization of plants and plant extracts. In herbalism ‘Valerian’ is a boon medicine for several ailments. Valerian (Valerian officinalis) is a naturally occurring Ayurvedic medicine widely grown in the temperate zones of Europe, North America and Asia and is a safe herbal supplement indicated in various ailments, chief being for the symptoms associated with difficulty in sleeping. It improves subjective experiences of sleep when taken nightly over one- to two-week periods. Although the adverse effect profile and tolerability of this herb are excellent, long-term safety studies are lacking. Due to the this limitations and inconsistent results in currently published clinical trials, further research is needed to clarify the efficacy and side effect profile of valerian, especially in regard to long-term therapy. In present investigation, the medicinally important herbal drug Valerian is reviewed for various taxonomical aspects including botanical authenticity, historical backgrounds, description, existing common names, medicinally important species, going through cultivation, commerce, regulation to phytochemical description, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, adverse drug reactions, toxicology, contraindications and safety aspects of Valerian. This paper also intends to motivate and accelerate pharmaceutical research on Valerian for development of convenient, effective and Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) medication.