From the mint family, Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is an herb native to Europe, the Middle East and Asia, but has now naturalized more widely throughout the world.
Catnip is named for the intense attraction most cats have to it—producing a euphoria, which sometimes makes them act crazy and become even more entertaining to humans. 😻
The phytochemical responsible for the attraction is nepetalactone, and just scent alone is needed for the response. Not only does Catnip have this effect on the domesticated housecat, but also larger felines, such as lions, tigers and jaguars! (Can you imagine!?)
Catnip is thought to be a stimulant to cats but have the opposite effect on humans, with a traditional herbal use for promoting relaxation and sleep for both adults and children. Other herbal uses include for aiding digestion, colds and upper respiratory health, and also as a diaphoretic. There are also some genitourinary and diuretic uses for catnip, which have some confirmation in preclinical studies.
Traditional preparation methods include as a tea, juice, tincture, poultice and infusion, and it was even smoked and chewed. Today it can be found in herbal preparations, including tinctures and infusions, but it can also be enjoyed dried and placed in sachets or “dream pillows”.
There are some traditional topical and internal uses of catnip for skin conditions, thought to be explained by its anti-inflammatory and insecticidal activities.
The euphoric effects on cats is thought to be produced by cis-trans-nepatalacatone (a volatile iridoid terpene), which constitutes the majority of the volatile oil of catnip, and is structurally related to the valepotriates from valerian. There are several other interesting iridoid terpenes found in catnip that have not been well studied, but which are thought to possess depressant effects and insecticidal activity.
There is uncertainty whether a euphoric effect is produced in humans by catnip, but traditional use and preclinical studies do report calming effects.
A wide variety of activities have been reported in the literature for the traditionally used Nepeta species, including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antifungal, cytotoxic, antioxidant, immunomodulatory activities.
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*This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal physician.