Valerian odor.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: valarian root - odor
From: laidbak.ibm.net
Date: 19 Oct 1995 00:15:16 GMT
I bought a bottle of valarian root pills the other day (I've never tried it, but I'm having trouble sleeping since I quit smoking), and when I opened the bottle the smell almost made me gag. My wife was raised on a farm and she swears that it smelled exactly like cow manure (the pills were brown to top it off). I am not familiar with Valarian root, so i don't know if this is how it normally smells or if theses pills were bad. Anyway, I threw the pills out, I don't care how badly I need sleep, I can't take anything that smells that bad!
Does anyone know if this is normal for Valarian root ?
From: callie.writepage.com (Callie)
>I bought a bottle of valarian root pills the other day
It's normal - both the color and odor. I think it's more like an ancient gym locker myself.
It is VERY effective for inducing sleep ... just swallow fast with lots of water.
From: camel.winternet.com (caMel)
>I bought a bottle of valarian root pills the other day
Actually, it's not all that bad if made into a tea and laced with tons of honey. I too choked on the smell of it the first time, and recently, at a camp-out at my place, I was going to show a few people one of the worst herb smells I've ever found. I brought out the bottle of it (has to be stored in glass, the smell goes right through plastic) and opened the jar and smelled it. Was the oddest thing ... for some strange reason it didn't smell bad at all, and everyone else that smelled it didn't know why I had thought it was a bad smell either. Could it have been a collective olfactory hallucination? The herb is only about 3 months old and was stored in sealed glass in a dark place. So I'm sure it has not degraded at all in potency. It was just a very odd occurance that this rotten smelling valerian -- actually smelled -- PLEASANT to everyone that was there. One herb book says it only smells bad to certain people and others don't notice it that way (I thought they were lieing).
What would cause this shift in the way one senses something? (and I mean on a group-scale like what happened). Could it have been some odd spiritual event of some kind? Like maybe the people in attendence were all on a new plane, or in tune with something? (No, it was not the wrong bottle, I labeled it with large smell warnings. : ) Has anyone else ever noticed that their valerian actually gives off a pleasing aroma? This time it was almost an earthy-mint kind of smell, or something on the order of pennyroyal with it's menthol odor. Hard to describe, but it was a nice smell. We were all outdoors, could that have had something to do with it? (Some say that when eating outside, the food tastes different. If this is the case with valerian, I'd tell everyone to do their valerian outside. : )
There's a chemical that is a genetic indicator for certain people, some can taste it, others can not, I've done the test way back in the school days. Could valerian be on this order of things? Some predisposed to having a bad experience with it. But then, that wouldn't explain why I found the aroma pleasing too this last time.
Sorry for rambling, but the topic reminded me of this odd shift in perceptions that happened. I'm puzzled.
From: Deb Skinner <deb.mtjeff.com>
>I bought a bottle of valarian root pills the other day
Yes, that is how it smells. Personally, I take tinctures (easier to regulate dosage) and it tastes distinctive too. But, it works, and after a time, it doesn't seem to smell BAD anymore. Now it just smells like Valariana officinalis.
> Anyway, I threw the pills out, I don't care how badly I need sleep, I can't take anything that smells that bad!
I suspect that part of the smell was a result of the pill making process, ie: binders, fillers, gelatine caps, etc.
If insomnia is still a problem you might try Passiflora incarnata (passion flower) either tinctured (it tastes VERY good) or blended with chamomile &/or lavender.
Sleep well,
Deb
From: cmoore.mailbag.com (Cathy Moore)
>I bought a bottle of valarian root pills the other day
Valerian smells pretty bad, but it works so well for me I've grown to actually like the smell. I buy the root and grind it, mix it with skullcap, then put it in capsules stored in a dark glass jar. The only time it smells is when I open the jar. Two capsules put me to sleep very pleasantly, with no grogginess in the morning. They also help me stop pointless worrying.
From: bella.kinney.channel1.com (Bella Kinney)
>I bought a bottle of valarian root pills the other day
Yep, thats exactly how valerian smells, the good stuff anyway. Good ways to utilize the active principle include powdering the root and swallowing Gelcaps full of it and tincturing the root in grain alcohol. Use valerian sparingly, you can become dependent upon it, I like to think that the odor is nature's precaution against overuse.
From: griztotm.pacificrim.net
> I bought a bottle of valarian root pills the other day
Good grief! I've been using Valerian Root for over a year and love it. I never pay attention to the SMELL. It helps me sleep better than anything else. I buy it bulk, grind it and put it into capsules. I also use the extract whenever I am especially "wound up" and know I'll have a tough time sleeping. If the smell bothers you, don't breathe it in...just pop them in your mouth and swallow them. I would certainly never let it deter me from a getting a decent night's sleep....
