Koetter · Phytotherapy research : PTR 2007 · randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial · n=?

A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, prospective clinical study to demonstrate clinical efficacy of a fixed valerian hops extract combination (Ze 91019) in patients suffering from non-organic sleep disorder.

Cited 80 times in the scientific literature.

Level 2 - randomized trial

Individual randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

PubMed 17486686 · doi:10.1002/ptr.2167 · record verified 2026-08-28

What was done

In a 4-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, researchers evaluated patients with non-organic insomnia (ICD-10 F51.0–51.2) who had a baseline sleep latency of at least 30 minutes. Participants received placebo, 500 mg valerian extract alone (Ze 911), or a fixed combination extract (Ze 91019) containing 500 mg valerian extract and 120 mg hops extract. Sleep parameters were objectively measured at home using a portable recording system (QUISI), with reduction in sleep latency (SL2) as the primary outcome.

What was found

The abstract reports that the fixed valerian-hops extract combination was significantly superior to placebo in reducing sleep latency, whereas the single valerian extract failed to show superiority over placebo. No numerical values, effect sizes, or p-values are reported in the abstract.

Why it matters

This trial suggests that combining hops extract with valerian improves objective sleep latency in non-organic insomnia, whereas valerian extract alone was not effective compared to placebo.

Limits

The abstract omits the sample size, numerical data, confidence intervals, and p-values. Long-term efficacy beyond 4 weeks, safety outcomes, and subjective sleep quality metrics are not reported.

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