Valerian
Sweaty, rooty, animalic — then unexpectedly warm. Valerian root smells like damp forest floor mixed with old cheese rinds and camphor, with a balsamic undertow that emerges only at distance.
Scent
Terroir & Transformation
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Did You Know?
Hippocrates (c. 460–377 BCE) described valerian's properties, and Galen later prescribed it specifically for insomnia. The ancient Greeks called the plant 'phu' — almost certainly a comment on its smell. In medieval Sweden, valerian was placed in the wedding clothes of bridegrooms to ward off the envy of elves. The word 'valerian' itself likely derives from the Latin valere (to be strong or healthy), though some scholars link it to the Roman province of Valeria in Pannonia, where the plant grew abundantly.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method
Steam distillation of dried Valeriana officinalis rhizomes and roots. Yield: 0.5–2.0% (highly variable by origin, drying method, and distillation parameters). The roots must be dried before distillation — fresh roots produce a weak, indistinct oil. Drying triggers enzymatic breakdown of valepotriates into free isovaleric acid, which is responsible for the intensified odor of dried valerian. The resulting oil is olive-green to brownish-yellow with high viscosity. Supercritical CO2 extraction yields a chemically different product with dramatically higher isovaleric acid content (up to 41.8% vs. ~13% by hydrodistillation) and different organoleptic character. Major production in Belgium, Germany, Poland, and China.
- Formula
- N/A — complex essential oil (key: bornyl acetate C₁₂H₂₀O₂, valerenic acid C₁₅H₂₂O₂)
- CAS
- 8008-88-6
- Botanical
- Valeriana officinalis
- Appearance
- pale brown liquid
- Odour strength
- Medium
- Synonyms
- VALERIAN ROOT VALERIANACEAE
Restricted — IFRA recommends max 1.0% in fragrance concentrate (due to trace eugenol content, <0.20%). Not prohibited.
- Specific gravity
- 0.942 to 0.984 @ 20 °C
- Refractive index
- 1.476 to 1.503 @ 20 °C
- Note
- Valeriana officinalis root oil. Values from standard pharmacopoeial references.
In Perfumery
Valerian root oil functions as a base-note animalic modifier, used at very low doses (typically well under 1%) to inject biological warmth into compositions. The isovaleric acid content makes dosing critical: overdose produces an unwearable dirty-sweaty effect; the right trace amount reads as naturalistic musk-skin depth. Primary fragrance families: chypre (reinforcing the oakmoss-animalic axis), leather accords (adding fermented warmth alongside birch tar and castoreum replacers), and animalic-amber blends. The oil provides a functional alternative to civet and castoreum in formulas seeking natural animalic character without animal-derived materials. No synthetic molecule specifically replicates valerian's profile, though blends of isovaleric acid with bornyl acetate and earthy musks approximate it. Valerenic acid (CAS 3569-10-6), the primary sesquiterpenoid, acts as a GABA-A receptor positive allosteric modulator — the same pharmacological mechanism behind valerian's centuries-old use as a sedative.