Supplement evidence

087 / 575Mood & stress

Valerian

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The short answer

Trials of sleep quality are inconsistent, and preparations vary substantially.

Evidence and scope: Mixed evidence
This status does not grade the ingredient for every goal, outcome, or person.
Important limitation: Trials are inconsistent or small, so a reliable clinically important benefit is not established.
Before deciding: Key concern: Do not combine with alcohol, sedatives, anesthesia, or driving; avoid abrupt cessation after heavy chronic use.

01 / PRACTICAL GUIDE

Dose, absorption, and combinations

These are indication-specific reference or studied ranges—not a personalized prescription. Start with the objective, then check the form, label, medicines, and health conditions.

Reference range by objective

Sleep onset300–600 mg standardized root extract before bed in many trials

Reference or studied range—not a personalized prescription. The product label or a clinician may specify a different dose.

Dose source ↗

More is not automatically better. A clinician or product label may specify a different amount.

Absorption / solubilityFormulation-dependent

Not usefully classified as a fat- or water-soluble vitamin; absorption depends on the salt, extract, delivery system, and meal.

How it is commonly taken

Take near bedtime; effects may not be immediate.

Do not combine casually

Do not combine with alcohol, sedatives, anesthesia, or driving; avoid abrupt cessation after heavy chronic use.

Dose and use source ↗

Dose and use links lead to primary or official source material. Search links are discovery tools, not proof that every returned paper applies.

02 / EVIDENCE

What the research says

We keep supportive, mixed, negative, safety, and contextual findings together. The headline never replaces the underlying papers.

2research papers in this ledger

1unique primary studies represented

80unique participants represented

These are audited counts for this JIVANA collection, not search-result totals. Participants are counted once when multiple papers use the same cohort; review papers are not added again to participant totals.

Open the research timelineResearch timeline

Entries are ordered by publication year. A study period appears only when the source reports it.

2024

Does not support the tested claimPMID 38359657

Does valerian work for insomnia? An umbrella review

The review found no evidence that valerian treats insomnia. Subjective sleep quality sometimes improved, but quantitative and objective measures did not establish efficacy; underlying studies were heterogeneous and low quality. Review-level overlap and absent totals make this context-only.

Published: 2024

Study design and methods

Design: Umbrella review of 8 systematic reviews
Population: Adults with sleep disturbance or insomnia across prior reviews
Intervention: Valerian preparations versus placebo or other controls
Outcome: Insomnia efficacy, subjective and objective sleep, and safety

Open research record ↗

2024

Mixed or qualifiedPMID 37899385 · CTRI/2022/05/042818

Standardized Valeriana officinalis extract in adults with sleep complaints

Multiple subjective, actigraphic, and subset polysomnography outcomes favored valerian with no safety concern. The modest trial, eight dropouts, many endpoints, and conflict with the broader umbrella review require independent replication.

Published: 2024Duration: 8 weeksn=80 participants

Study design and methods

Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial
Population: 80 adults with mild sleep complaints; 72 completed efficacy assessment
Intervention: Standardized valerian extract versus placebo
Outcome: PSQI, wrist actigraphy, daytime sleepiness, anxiety, and subset polysomnography

Funding or conflict note: The authors declared no competing interests.

Open research record ↗

Unscreened discovery appendix—not evidence32 candidate publicationsSearch run: Aug 21, 2026

Complete for the displayed PubMed query at the search timestamp—not for all databases or every possible synonym. Candidates can be irrelevant, duplicate the same study, or report negative findings. They are never summed as evidence or participants until screened.

03 / SOURCES

Start with the source material

Official evidence overviewPubMed bounded human-evidence search Live PubMed discovery searchNational Library of Medicine

The live search is for discovery only. Search-result counts change and are not included in the audited totals above.

Recent PubMed discovery recordsDirect links to the first 12 records returned by the reproducible search. These are discovery candidates—not reviewed summaries or a count of supportive findings.

04 / EXPERT CONTEXT

Expert context—not evidence

Expert positions are dated context—not scientific evidence. They never raise the evidence status or become consensus by repetition.

No direct, source-verified endorsement is currently recorded. Research authorship or discussion alone is not treated as endorsement.