Botanical Name

Valeriana jatamansi Jones.

Family

Valerianaceae.

Synonyms

Valeriana wallichii DC, Valeriana wallichii var. violifolia Franch, Valeriana  harmsii Graebn.

Regional Name

English : Indian Valerian, Hindi : Mushkbala, Sugandhabala, Sanskrit : Kalanusari, Kalanusarika, Nata, Urdu : Tagar, Punjabi : Mushkobala, Sugandhbala, Gujrati : Tagar Ganthoda, Tagar Gantho, Ghodawaj, Assamese : Tagar, Bengali : Tagar Paduka, Kannada : Mandibattal, Mandyavanthu, Mandibattalu, Tagar, Kashmiri : Bala, Mushkbala, Malayalam : Thakaram, Marathi : Tagar, Ganthode, Oriya : Tagarapaduka, Jalashiuli, Tamil : Tagarai, Telugu : Grandhi Tagaramu.

Part Used

Rhizome.

Description

Tagar is globally distributed in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and South West China. Within India, it is found in the temperate Himalayas and in Meghalaya (Khasia and Jaintia hills) up to an altitude ranges from 1500 to 3600 m. It is a hairy perennial herb growing up to 4 feet, rhizomes dug in autumn, well washed with water and dried. Rhizomes are about 4-8 cm long and 4-10 mm thick pieces, dull yellowish-brow. sub-cylindrica1 and dorsiventrally somewhat flattened, rough, slightly curved and unbranched, upper surface marked with raised encircling leaf scars, under surface bearing numerous, small, circular prominent, root scars and a few stout rootlets, crown bearing remains of aerial stems with scale leaves, fracture short and horny, stolon connecting rhizomes stout, 1-5 mm long and 2-4 mm thick, yellowish-grey in colour, longitudinally wrinkled, usually with nodes and internodes and bearing adventitious roots, occasionally thin stolons 1-2 mm thick, root, yellowish-brown, 3-5 cm long and 1 mm thick, odour, strong and reminiscent of isovaleric acid, taste, bitter and somewhat camphoraceous.

Phytoconstituents

Main chemical constituents of tagara are Essential oils. It is also contains valerianine, valerine, actinidine, chatinine, shyanthine, isovaltrate, valtrate, gamma-aminobutyric acid (gaba), isovaleric acid, valerenic acid, acetoxyvalerenic acid, hydroxyvalerenic acid, hesperidin.

Ayurvedic Properties

Rasa : Katu, Tikta, Kasaya, Guna : Laghu, Snigdha, Vipaka : Katu, Virya : Usna, Karma : Visaghna, Tridosahara, Raktadosahara, Manasadoshara.

Ayurvedic Applications

Netraroga, Apasmara, Unmada, Siroroga.

Medicinal Uses

It is useful in treating eye diseases, anxiety, breathlessness, bronchitis, epilepsy, hysteria, insomnia, migraines, giddiness and fainting fits. It is also useful in curing gastrointestinal conditions like diverticulitis, irritable bowel, colic, nervous dyspepsia, nervous stomach, stimulates digestion, and stomach cramps.