Table 1.
List of studies with selected compounds.
| Compound | First authors (year published) | Design | Total patients | Intervention | Reported outcomes/results | Journal | Jadad scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valerian | Taavoni 2013 [30] | Triple-blind, Randomized placebo-controlled trial |
100 | 160 mg of essence of valerian and lemon balm | Improvement in sleep quality (PSQI) | Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice | 3 |
| Taavoni 2011 [29] | Triple-blind, Randomized placebo-controlled trial |
100 | 530 mg valerian extract | Improvement in sleep quality (PSQI) | Menopause | 3 | |
| Barton 2011 [35] | Double-blind Randomized placebo-controlled trial |
119 | 450 mg of valerian | No improvement in sleep quality (PSQI) | The Journal of Supportive Oncology | 3 | |
| Cuellar 2009 [34] | Triple-blind, Randomized placebo-controlled trial |
37 | 800 mg of valerian | No improvement in sleep quality (PSQI) | Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine | 5 | |
| Waldschütz 2008 [37] | Open-label, prospective cohort study | 409 | Doses were at physicians' judgments | Improved sleep latency and duration | The Scientific World Journal | 1 | |
| Oxman 2007 [33] | Web-based randomized placebo-controlled trial | 405 | 200 mg extract per tablet (valerina forte). | No improvement in sleep quality perceived | PLoS One | 5 | |
| Müller 2006 [31] | Open, multicentre study | 918 | Euvegals forte (160 mg valerian root) | Reduced dyssomnia | Phytomedicine | 1 | |
| Jacobs 2005 [39] | Internet-based randomized, placebo-controlled trial | 391 | 2 valerian softgel capsules (3.2 mg of valerenic acids) | No changes in ISI | Medicine | 5 | |
| Diaper 2004 [40] | Placebo-controlled three way crossover | 16 | Acute valerian 300 mg or valerian 600 mg | No changes in EEG parameters or psychometric measures | Phytotherapy Research | 5 | |
| Coxeter 2003 [41] | Randomized n-of-1 trials | 24 | 225 mg V. officinalis root and rhizome extract | No changes in total sleep time or number of night awakenings | Complementary Therapies in Medicine | 5 | |
| Ziegler 2002 [28] | Randomized, double-blind, comparative trial | 202 | 600 mg/die valerian extract | Improvement in sleep quality | European Journal of Medical Research | NA | |
| Poyares 2002 [27] | Double-blind, Randomized placebo-controlled trial |
37 | 100 mg valerian (valmane) | Improvement in sleep quality and wake time after sleep onset | Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry | 3 | |
| Herrera-Arellano 2001 [26] | Double-blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled study | 20 | 450 mg of valerian | Improvement in sleep quality and morning sleepiness | Planta Medica | 3 | |
| Wheatley 2001 [38] | Cross-over study compared to kava | 19 | 600 mg of valerian | Improvement in insomnia severity scores | Phytotherapy Research | 1 | |
| Donath 2000 [36] | Double-blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled study | 16 | 300 mg dry extract valerian (sedonium) | Improvement in slow-wave sleep latency | Pharmacopsychiatry | 4 | |
| Lindahl 1988 [32] | Double-blind, Randomized placebo-controlled trial |
27 | 400 mg of valepotriates | Improvement in sleep quality | Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior | 4 | |
| Leathwood 1982 [25] | Double-blind, Randomized placebo-controlled trial |
128 | 400 mg valerian for 3 days | Improvement in sleep quality and wake time after sleep onset | Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior | 4 | |
| Lavender | Kasper 2015 [45] | Double-blind, Randomized placebo-controlled trial |
170 | 80 mg of silexan daily for 10 weeks | Improvement in sleep quality (PSQI) and anxiety (HAMA) | European Neuropsychopharmacology | 4 |
| Uehleke 2012 [46] | Open-label, exploratory trial | 47 | 1 × 80 mg/day silexan over 6 weeks | Reduced waking-up frequency and duration | Phytomedicine | 1 | |
| Kasper 2010 [44] | Double-blind, Randomized placebo-controlled trial |
221 | 80 mg of silexan daily for 10 weeks | Improvement in sleep quality (PSQI) and anxiety (HAMA) | International Clinical Psychopharmacology | 5 | |
| Woelk 2010 [43] | Double-blind, Randomized lorazepam-controlled trial |
77 | 1 × 80 mg/day silexan over 6 weeks | Improvement in anxiety (HAMA) and sleep quality (sleep diary) | Phytomedicine | 4 | |
| Hop | Scholey 2017 [47] | Double-blind, Randomized placebo-controlled trial |
171 | LZComplex3 (lactium, Zizyphus, Humulus lupulus, magnesium, and vitamin B6) hop 500 mg for 2 weeks | No changes in sleep quality (PSQI) | Nutrients | 5 |
| Cornu 2010 [48] | Double-blind, Randomized placebo-controlled trial |
101 | Two gelatine capsules of Cyclamax® (50 mg hop, 260 mg soya oil, 173 mg Cannabis sativa) per day for a month | No effects on sleep quality (LSEQ), melatonin metabolism, and sleep-wake cycle | BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine | 3 | |
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| Chamomile | Adib-Hajbaghery 2017 [49] | Single-blind randomized controlled trial | 60 | 200 mg twice a day for 28 days | Improvement in general sleep quality and sleep latency (PSQI) | Complementary Therapies in Medicine | 3 |
| Chang 2016 [50] | A single-blinded, randomized controlled | 80 | one cup of chamomile tea per day for 2 weeks | Improvement in PSQS | Journal of Advanced Nursing | 3 | |
| Zick 2011 [51] | Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial | 34 | 270 mg of chamomile twice daily for 28 days | No significant improvement in ISI and PSQI | BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine | 5 | |
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| Hawthorn | Hanus 2003 [52] | Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial | 264 | 150 mg twice daily for 3 months | Reduction in Hamilton Anxiety Scale | Current Medical Research and Opinion | 4 |
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| St. John's wort | Al-Akoum 2009 [53] | Pilot double-blind, randomized | 47 | 900 mg three times daily | Improvement in general sleep quality (SPS) | Menopause | 5 |
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| Rosemary | Nematolahi 2018 [54] | Double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled trial | 68 | 500 mg rosemary | Improvement in sleep quality (PSQI) | Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice | 3 |
| Valerian + hop | Maroo 2013 [56] | Double-blinded randomized Zolpidem-controlled trial | 78 | 300 mg valerian, 80 mg passion flower, and 30 mg hop | Improvement in total sleep time, sleep latency, number of nightly awakenings, and ISI | Indian Journal of Pharmacology | 5 |
| Dimpfel 2008 [55] | Double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled trial | 42 | 460 mg of valerian and 460 mg of hop single dose | Improvement in sleep quality (deep sleep) and sleep quantity | European Journal of Medical Research | 3 | |
| Koetter 2007 [57] | Double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled trial | 27 | 500 mg of valerian and 120 mg of hop for 4 weeks | Improvement in sleep latency | Phytotherapy Research | 2 | |
| Morin 2005 [58] | Double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled trial | 184 | 2 tablets of 187 mg of valerian and 41.9 mg of hop for 28 days | Improvement in quality of life (physical component) | Sleep | 3 | |
| Sun 2003 [59] | Open, noncomparative trial | 72 | 200 mg valerian, 100 mg hop, kava and other components | Improvement in sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep disturbance (PSQI) | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine | 0 | |
SPS = sleep problem scale, PSQI = Pittsburg sleep quality inventory, PSQS = postpartum sleep quality scale, LSEQ = Leeds sleep evaluation questionnaire, and ISI = insomnia severity index.