Valerian's bioenergetic properties have been utilized in medicine since the ancient Greeks and Romans. Hippocrates defined its characteristcs, then Galen later began to prescribe it as a remedy for sleeping disorders.

Valerian was used to treat epilepsy up till around the 19th century. Scientists found that isovaleric acid, a chemical embodied inside valerian, might stop convulsions, similar to the impacts of the anticonvulsant medication valproic acid.