CATNIP
Nepeta cataria
Common Name:  Catnip, catnep, nep, cat’s wort, catmint, field balm
Family: Lamiaceae
Chinese Medicine Name: Jia jing jie
Ayurvedic Name: Badranj boya
Parts Used: Leaves and flowers
Actions: Analgesic, Antispasmodic, Aperient, Bitter, Carminative, Diaphoretic, Emmenagogue, Nervine, Sedative. Stimulant, Stomachic, Tonic
Taste: Bitter
Energy: Cooling, Warming
The most important health benefits of catnip include its ability to calm restless sleep, relieve anxiety and stress, soothe menstrual pain, eliminate eating disorders, and ease stomach discomfort. It also helps speed up the recovery from colds and fevers, detoxify the body, reduce inflammation throughout the body, and even speed wound healing.
 
Often heralded for its nervine and sedative actions, catnip doesn’t stimulate humans the same way it does felines. In fact, the nepetalactone isomers known to drive cats crazy are similar to the natural sedatives found in valerian root, thus supporting catnip’s traditional use as a mild tranquilizer (Castleman, 2009).
 
Often used to ease colic, expel gas, and to alleviate spasms and restlessness, catnip is especially valued for babies and young children. It is also used for soothing teething discomforts and for relieving the pain of toothaches. In folk traditions, children often wore bags of crushed catnip around their necks so they could inhale the plant’s soothing vapors (Gladstar, 2001/2008; Castleman, 2009).
 
Like other plants in the mint family, catnip has both warming and cooling actions. Used as a poultice, for instance, catnip can cool inflammatory conditions of the skin, such as boils, wounds, ulcers, and scrapes. Catnip is also useful for soothing sunburned skin, and its cooling effect is a boon for the digestive system. Alternatively, catnip can also serve as a warming herb that improves circulation, thereby helping to ease mild cases of depression, cardiac issues, and lethargy (Bellebuono, 2012).