On the moist soil of meadows and swamps, among trees and shrubs in late May, easily recognizable panicled inflorescences of medicinal grass - valerian appear. Rhizomes with the roots of this amazing plant are the raw material for various soothing and heart preparations.
Description of pharmacy valerian
A perennial herbaceous medicinal plant (of the family of the same name - Valerian) can reach two meters in height.
Its rhizome up to two centimeters thick vertically penetrates in moist soil to a depth of no more than three centimeters, and numerous thin shoot roots sometimes grow to half a meter length. Medicine refers these dried plant parts to sedatives. The healing properties of rhizomes with
valerian roots acquire in the second year of the plant's life, when it blooms and gains strength. At the same time, they have a specific aroma and a slightly bitter taste. Small rosettes of leaves, which are characteristic of the annual "cat grass", in the second year turn into unpaired, coarse-toothed edges, separate and opposite leaves with a sedentary arrangement on top of the plant and petiolate fastening on the bottom.
Flowers at the pharmacy valerian are most often small and fragrant, with a pale pink tint. Mother Nature collects them in apical corymbose or corymbose-paniculate inflorescences. The stem of valerian is straight, hollow, branched in the upper part of the plant. Biologists note that the "cat root" blooms in the period from late May - early June to August, and the active ripening of fruits (oblong-ovate achenes with tufted feather) occurs in July-September.
Features of wild and cultivated raw materials
In the wild, valerian does not form thickets convenient for the industrial procurement of medicinal plants, so many enterprises prefer to cultivate plantations created by sowing seeds or planting small rosettes of valerian.
Rhizomes with the roots of cultivated high-yielding varieties of "cardiola" and "mauna" are twice as large in size as their wild-growing counterparts. Depending on the location of the habitat of the natural healer, they can be thin (in the northern regions) or have a larger size and fleshy structure, as in the southern ones.
What healing does “shaking grass” (valerian) contain?
Due to the rich chemical composition of valerian roots, which includes more than a hundred different active substances, the prepared extracts, tinctures and decoctions from this plant material help from many ailments.
The wide range of aromatic oils contained in the rhizomes of valerian, as well as borneol, various acids (isovalerianic, butyric, acetic and formic) is combined with alkaloids, nitrogen-containing alcohol, valerin, hatinin, sugar and glycosides, saponins, tannins and many other substances.
Valerian properties and indications
What helps preparations containing extracts and crushed raw materials of valerian (rhizome)? The roots of the grass treat hysteria and neurosis, tachycardia, angina pectoris and convulsions (including with epileptic seizures), various functional disorders of coronary circulation, migraine and hypertension, insomnia and pain in PMS. With the help of freshly prepared decoctions or infusions from this plant material, the flow of urticaria, psoriasis and eczema is facilitated (taking externally and orally).
The beneficial effect of drugs from Valerian officinalis (rhizomes with roots used for water and alcohol extracts, the manufacture of tablets and cardiac drugs) is known for defects (defects in the heart or large vessels), increased irritability, menopausal disorders, liver and biliary tract diseases, gastrointestinal spasms, inflammation of the sciatic nerve. The treatment of such a wide range of ailments, including valerian-based drugs, is effective due to its soothing and analgesic, hypnotic and choleretic effect.
The valerian widely known among the people reduces the central nervous system excitability, improves the state of the cardiovascular and peripheral nervous systems, and has a carminative and antispasmodic effect. In addition, tincture of valerian (rhizomes with roots for which serve as plant materials) has quite powerful antiviral properties.
Dosage forms of produced plant materials
On the shelves of pharmacies today you can find alcohol tincture of valerian in bottles (25 ml), tablets with “cat grass” extract or dried roots of a medicinal plant.
Domestic manufacturers grind them in the form of small pieces or to a powder state, and then pack the resulting raw materials in cardboard packs of 30-100 g or in filter bags of 1.5 g, which are sold in boxes of the manufacturer for 10 or 20 pieces. Foreign pharmaceutical companies market capsules with freeze-dried valerian powder (rhizomes with roots), the instructions for which are attached in Russian.
Customers leave positive reviews about these imported analogues on the Web, but they warn that the price of the American drug from Eclectic Institute (90 capsules) can be about 600 rubles, and dietary supplements with valerian root from NOW Foods (USA) - 800 rubles for 250 capsules. Domestic drugs based on valerian root significantly benefit in price, but at the same time they are not inferior in quality to their foreign counterparts.
Soothing tablets "Valerian"
Rhizomes, the roots of which can be used to prepare decoctions and tinctures, serve as raw materials for home remedies. They are difficult to use for super-busy people who are uncomfortable at work or event, on a business trip or on a trip, to prepare and take liquid preparations. It is much more convenient to purchase an inexpensive valerian extract in the form of coated tablets and packaged in 50 pieces in a blister at the pharmacy. Their dosage, regardless of manufacturer, is 20 mg per 1 tablet. A sedative and antispasmodic drug is dispensed without a prescription. You need to use it after a meal, one or two tablets, no more than three times a day.
Indications and contraindications for this form of a medicinal product with valerian extract (the rhizomes with roots of which are the raw materials for the pharmacy) are the same as for tinctures, decoctions and other types of medicinal plants. Pills with extracts from the "cat root" will help calm down with increased nervous excitability, with problems with falling asleep (insomnia). They are often prescribed in the complex therapy of malfunctions of the cardiovascular system or with spasms of various organs of the gastrointestinal tract.
Contraindications and limitations
It is forbidden to extract valerian in tablets for people suffering from hypersensitivity to the drug, children under 12 years of age, as well as pregnant women in the first trimester. The sedative effect of the drug should also be taken into account when taking people whose professional activity is associated with increased concentration of attention (driving a car, working with mechanisms and others).
In these cases, you need to limit the intake of valerian extract by drinking it at night. For people with a high sensitivity of the nervous system to valerian, it is necessary to select a dose of the drug individually or even to exclude its use. You should not use funds based on the "cat root" for patients suffering from gallstone disease, pregnant women (in the first trimester). If the infusion of valerian root is taken for a long time, drowsiness, a depressed state, constipation, allergic reactions and poor performance may occur. The same side effects are noted with an overdose of the drug. Children under the age of one can not use valerian root in treatment. Pregnant women in the second and third trimesters, as well as in the lactation period, can only recommend the drug for use by a doctor who will monitor the process.
Alcohol tincture of valerian
This pharmacy preparation is an extract of valerian roots, prepared in a ratio of 1 to 5 and filled with alcohol with a strength of 70%. Assign it for oral administration as a sedative (adults - 15-30 drops after meals, but not more than three times a day).
Home-made alcohol tinctures of valerian can be used for menopause, painful menstruation, or as sedatives, but experts recommend paying special attention to the quality of alcohol or vodka with which valerian roots are poured and their dosage (5 tablespoons of crushed cat grass roots pour 500 ml of alcohol , insist 14-15 days). Drink tincture of 20-30 drops (3 r. Per day), for 30 days, and then you need to take a two-week break if you need a second course of treatment.
Reviews
Most opinions about the effects on the body of a natural medicine from valerian are positive in color. Users note its good sedative effect, gently eliminating the effects of stress and making falling asleep easier. A herbal infusion of rhizomes with valerian roots, herbalists have long been recommended to normalize the thyroid gland with hyperthyroidism (increased function). To prepare, take 8-10 g of crushed dry valerian root or powder, pouring it with 200 ml of boiling water. The next day, the finished infusion is drunk in several stages. To reduce the preparation time of the infusion without losing its properties, you can place the raw materials in a thermos and fill it with boiling water. In this case, the natural medicine will be ready in an hour.
For migraines - a tablespoon of raw material is boiled over low heat for 5 minutes, then filtered after cooling and drunk 25-50 ml several times a day. In case of neurosis, a combined sedative collection is used: one part of the rhizomes with the roots of valerian and hop cones, and 2 parts of peppermint leaves and water shamrock. A couple of tablespoons of this collection is filled with 400-500 ml of boiling water, insisted for 30-40 minutes and drunk half a glass twice a day (morning and evening). This collection well calms the body with neurosis, insomnia and angina pectoris after stress, relieves the condition with psoriasis.
Praise the effect of a decoction of valerian roots on skin affected by urticaria or eczema if you take a bath with this remedy. To prepare 50 g of raw materials, pour two liters of boiling water and heat over low heat for no more than 20 minutes. Then they insist for half an hour, filter and add to the bath, which, judging by the reviews, is best taken to relax before bedtime.