Benefits
Sleep onset and duration in one small human study
In a one-month comparative study of people aged 15 to 45 with sleeplessness, 15 people who completed a course of jatamansi rhizome powder improved on sleep onset, duration and disturbed-sleep scores versus their own baseline. There was no placebo group, and a valerian-family herb (Tagara) improved somewhat more, so this does not show that jatamansi works.
Blood pressure readings in a small four-week trial
In a single-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 40 adults with stage 1 high blood pressure who were already on up to two blood pressure drugs, average readings fell over four weeks on 3 g/day of jatamansi and not on placebo. The abstract reports only within-group changes, with no between-group test.
Sedative effects of the root powder in rodents
Animal work only. In mice, jatamansi rhizome powder shortened the time to fall asleep and lengthened drug-induced sleep, and it reduced movement in rats without impairing coordination in mice. An older study found its sesquiterpene valeranone prolonged barbiturate sleep in animals. Rodent sedation tests do not show an effect in people.
Calming behavior in mice linked to the GABA system
Animal work only. Mice given an oral root extract for seven days behaved less cautiously in standard maze and light-dark tests, comparable to diazepam, and brain GABA levels rose. Flumazenil and picrotoxin, which act at the GABA receptor complex, blocked the effect. Very little of the labeled extract reached the brain, and animal anxiety tests do not show an effect in people.
Antioxidant activity in lab and animal studies
Lab and animal work only. In rats exposed to cold restraint stress, an oral root extract taken for 14 days limited the drop in glutathione-related antioxidant defenses and the stress-related changes in brain monoamines. These antioxidant effects have not been measured in people.
Mechanism of action
GABA benzodiazepine receptor complex
In mice, the calming effect of a root extract was reduced by flumazenil and picrotoxin, drugs that block the GABA benzodiazepine receptor complex, and brain GABA levels rose with treatment. This points to GABA signaling, although only a small share of radiolabeled extract was found in the brain.
Sedative sesquiterpenes
Sesquiterpenoids are considered the main bioactive compounds of the genus. Valeranone, isolated from the underground parts, showed tranquilizer-type effects in animals, including longer barbiturate sleep, though generally weaker than standard drugs and with weak effects on blood pressure.
Serotonin transporter activity in cells
In a lab assay, a methanol extract and a water-soluble fraction increased serotonin transporter activity, the opposite direction to SSRI antidepressants, and two constituents (chlorogenic acid and desoxo-narchinol A) reversed fluoxetine's blocking effect in cells. Relevance to people is unknown.
Antioxidant defenses under stress
In stressed rats, oral extract supported glutathione and the enzymes that recycle it (glutathione peroxidase, reductase and S-transferase) and limited stress-linked changes in dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin in several brain regions.
Clinical trials
Randomly assigned comparative clinical study of jatamansi rhizome powder (4 g three times daily after food, with milk) versus Tagara (Valeriana wallichii) powder for one month, with no placebo group (Toolika et al. 2015, Ayu)
34 people aged 15 to 45 with primary insomnia registered (18 to jatamansi, 16 to Tagara); 15 per group completed.
Within the jatamansi group, sleep onset improved by 61%, sleep duration by 48% and disturbed sleep by 53% on the Athens Insomnia Scale versus baseline (P < 0.001). Tagara improved more on most measures, but the difference between groups was significant only for daytime work disturbance. Without a placebo arm, the size of any true effect is unknown. Adverse effects were not reported.
Single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of jatamansi capsules, one capsule three times daily (3 g total per day) for four weeks, at a national Unani medicine institute in India (Bhat et al. 2020, Complement Ther Med)
40 adults aged 35 to 70 with stage 1 essential hypertension taking up to two antihypertensive drugs.
Systolic pressure fell from 144.2 to 134.3 mmHg and diastolic from 94.9 to 83.1 mmHg on jatamansi (both P < 0.001 within the group), with no significant change on placebo; a quality-of-life score also improved. The abstract reports within-group comparisons only, gives no between-group test, and does not mention adverse events.
Systematic review of clinical studies of Ayurvedic interventions for sleeplessness, with a focus on older adults (Kulkarni et al. 2026, Glob Adv Integr Med Health)
11 included studies, only 2 in elderly patients; 3 studies included a jatamansi arm.
Most included studies reported benefits, but the reviewers judged the evidence preliminary, citing small samples, missing standard comparators, no trial registration and few validated sleep scales. The reviewers noted an absence of adverse-event reporting and pharmacovigilance data, and the authors raised contamination, adulteration and herb-drug interactions as concerns for older adults.
Animal study, not a human trial: rhizome powder tested in rats (gross behavior, open field) and mice (rota-rod, pentobarbital-induced sleep) against water control and diazepam (Panara et al. 2020, Ayu)
Charles Foster albino rats and Swiss albino mice, six animals per group.
Jatamansi powder reduced movement in the open field (P < 0.001), shortened sleep onset (P < 0.01) and extended total sleep time (P < 0.05) in the pentobarbital test, without significant effects on gross behavior or rota-rod coordination. Rodent sedation tests do not show an effect in people.
Animal study, not a human trial: oral root extract 250 mg/kg for 3, 7 or 14 days in mice, compared with diazepam and tested with GABA-blocking drugs, plus radiolabel distribution in mice and rabbits (Razack et al. 2018, Metab Brain Dis)
Mice (behavior, brain chemistry, tissue distribution) and rabbits (blood kinetics).
After seven days, extract-treated mice showed less anxious behavior in four standard tests, comparable to diazepam, with higher brain GABA and monoamine levels; flumazenil or picrotoxin reduced the effect. The radiolabeled extract cleared from blood within 24 hours and collected mainly in kidney and liver, with low brain uptake.