Omnia SanaCommon names in 26 European languages →
The complete database record: 3 documented constituents, 7 pharmacological actions, 13 traditional / indicated uses, with 15 cited sources.
Botanical Description
Slender, upright perennial herb with wiry, square, sparsely hairy stems and deeply lobed, toothed leaves. Tiny, pale lilac to pale purple, five-lobed flowers are borne sparsely along thin, wiry spikes at the ends of the branches, opening a few at a time.[11]
Habitat & Distribution
Grows on dry waste ground, roadsides, field margins and disturbed soil; native to Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia and widely naturalised elsewhere.[11]
Harvesting
The flowering aerial parts are cut in summer as the plant comes into flower and dried in a warm, shaded, airy place.
Key Constituents
Characteristic constituents; verbenalin has a dopaminergic effect.
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory constituents.
Supporting antioxidant and aromatic constituents.
Pharmacological Actions
Anti-inflammatory and analgesic
Nervine / anxiolytic for nervous tension and mild anxiety; supports sleep (traditional) - a crude extract showed anxiolytic, sedative and anticonvulsant activity in animal models
Nervine / anxiolytic for nervous tension and mild anxiety; supports sleep (traditional) - a crude extract showed anxiolytic, sedative and anticonvulsant activity in animal models
Digestive bitter and relief of mild mental stress
Traditional & Indicated Uses
Nervine / anxiolytic for nervous tension and mild anxiety; supports sleep (traditional) - a crude extract showed anxiolytic, sedative and anticonvulsant activity in animal models
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
inferred from antidepressant action
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
inferred from sedative action
more plants for insomnia / sleeplessness →detailed sources →
Nervine / anxiolytic for nervous tension and mild anxiety; supports sleep (traditional) - a crude extract showed anxiolytic, sedative and anticonvulsant activity in animal models
inferred from analgesic action
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
Digestive bitter and relief of mild mental stress
Traditional Use & History
Vervain has an ancient European reputation, reflected in its old names 'holy herb' and 'herb of the cross', as a calming nervine for nervous tension, anxiety and sleeplessness, and as a bitter digestive tonic; it has also traditionally been used topically and internally for aches, pains and mild inflammation.[11]
Safety, Cautions & Contraindications
Generally well tolerated in traditional use. Avoid during pregnancy - vervain has a traditional uterine-stimulant (oxytocic) reputation linked to verbenalin.
May add to the effect of sedatives; use in breastfeeding is not recommended in the absence of data.
Herb-Drug Interactions
Harvest Readiness
[12]
External Identifiers
References & Sources
- Bekara, A., Amazouz, A. and Douma, T.B (2020) 'Evaluating the Antidepressant Effect of Verbena officinalis L. (Vervain) Aqueous Extract in Adult Rats', Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, 11(1), pp. 91-98. doi:10.32598/bcn.11.1.3 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.32598/bcn.11.1.3 - Rodrigues Oliveira, S.M., Dias, E., Girol, A.P., Silva, H. and others (2022) 'Exercise Training and Verbena officinalis L. Affect Pre-Clinical and Histological Parameters', Plants, 11(22), pp. 3115. doi:10.3390/plants11223115 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11223115 - Dong, J., Du, C., Xu, C., Wang, Q. and others (2023) 'Verbenalin attenuates hepatic damage and mitochondrial dysfunction in alcohol-associated steatohepatitis by regulating MDMX/PPARalpha-mediated ferroptosis', Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 307, pp. 116227. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2023.116227 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2023.116227 - Nisar, R., Adhikary, S., Ahmad, S. and Alam, M.A (2022) 'In Vitro Antimelanoma Properties of Verbena officinalis Fractions', Molecules, 27(19), pp. 6329. doi:10.3390/molecules27196329 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27196329 - Dai, X., Zhou, X., Shao, R., Zhao, R. and others (2023) 'Bioactive Constituents of Verbena officinalis Alleviate Inflammation and Enhance Killing Efficiency of Natural Killer Cells', International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(8), pp. 7144. doi:10.3390/ijms24087144 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24087144 - Zhang, W., Zhang, P., Xu, L.H., Gao, K. and others (2023) 'Ethanol extract of Verbena officinalis alleviates MCAO-induced ischaemic stroke by inhibiting IL17A pathway-regulated neuroinflammation', Phytomedicine, 123, pp. 155237. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2023.155237 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2023.155237 - Kubica, P., Szopa, A. and Ekiert, H (2017) 'Production of verbascoside and phenolic acids in biomass of Verbena officinalis L. (vervain) cultured under different in vitro conditions', Natural Product Research, 31(14), pp. 1663-1668. doi:10.1080/14786419.2017.1286477 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2017.1286477 - Yang, J.Y., Guo, C.S., Su, L., Xu, C.X. and others (2023) 'Four undescribed triterpenes from the aerial parts of Verbena officinalis', Fitoterapia, 170, pp. 105670. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2023.105670 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fitote.2023.105670 - Chen, Y., Gan, Y., Yu, J., Ye, X. and others (2023) 'Key ingredients in Verbena officinalis and determination of their anti-atherosclerotic effect using a computer-aided drug design approach', Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, pp. 1154266. doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1154266 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1154266 - Peng, S., Li, F., Yu, K., Zhou, F. and others (2022) 'Integrating transcriptome and chemical analyses to reveal the anti-Alzheimer's disease components in Verbena officinalis Linn', Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, pp. 955075. doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.955075 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.955075 - (2020) 'Verbena officinalis (Common Vervain) - A Review on the Investigations of This Medicinally Important Plant Species', Planta Medica. doi:10.1055/a-1232-5758 Traditional / reference
https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1232-5758 - Plants For A Future 'Verbena officinalis (Vervain)'. Available at: https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Verbena+officinalis Traditional / reference
https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Verbena+officinalis - Khan, A.W., Khan, A.U. and Ahmed, T (2016) 'Anticonvulsant, Anxiolytic, and Sedative Activities of Verbena officinalis', Frontiers in Pharmacology. doi:10.3389/fphar.2016.00499 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2016.00499 - Ghasemzadeh Rahbardar, M. and Hosseinzadeh, H (2024) 'Therapeutic potential of hypnotic herbal medicines: A comprehensive review', Phytotherapy Research, 38(6), pp. 3037-3059. doi:10.1002/ptr.8201 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.8201 - Block, K.I., Gyllenhaal, C. and Mead, M.N (2004) 'Safety and efficacy of herbal sedatives in cancer care', Integrative Cancer Therapies, 3(2), pp. 128-148. doi:10.1177/1534735404265003 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.1177/1534735404265003
Selected studies & references
All 14 studies in the Knowledge Finder →
This profile is assembled automatically from the Omnia Sana plant database, which we curate by hand. How this site is built.