Catnip - Rural Opportunities Network

Non-timber forest products
Fact sheet no. 4
Produced by the Non-timber Forest Products Program at Virginia Tech in collaboration with:
USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, SRS-4702, Blacksburg, Virginia;
Top of the Ozarks Resource Conservation & Development, Inc., Houston, Missouri; &
Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, Missouri.
Catnip
All cat lovers would concur that
catnip is attractive to cats.
Though the response of the cat
depends upon the breed, the ones that do
enjoy catnip the most are sent into a state of
kittenish friskiness. Catnip acts as a
stimulant for cats, but it can also be relaxing
for humans.
off insects that would otherwise eat its
leaves. The odor of this oil has a strange
fascination for cats, who would destroy the
plant with their ecstatic rolling and rubbing.
The response to catnip consists of sniffing,
followed by licking and chewing with head
shaking, then chin and cheek rubbing, and
finally a headover roll and body rubbing.
Catnip (Nepata cataria) is a
member of the mint family
(Labiatae). It is a perennial herb
that grows up to 3 feet. The root sends up
square, erect, and branched stems which are
very leafy and are covered with a downy
gray hair. The leaves are heart-shaped and
toothed and covered with a soft, close down
(especially on the undersides). This gives
the plant a hoary, grayish-green appearance,
as though dust has blown over it. The
clusters of white or pale lavender tubular
flowers with purplish spots are in bloom
from July to September.
The plant secretes an aromatic oil, which
bears a resemblance to that of mint, to ward
Catnip
Photo copyright Henriette Kress.
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The flowering tops of catnip yield up to 1.0
% volatile oil, 78 % being nepatalactone, the
main attractant to cats. Thymol extracted
from catnip has beneficial antiseptic uses on
the skin and in the nasal and pharyngeal
passages.
The flowering tops of the plant are used in
medicine. The other names of the plant are
catnep, catmint, cat’s-play, catrup, catwort,
nip, nep, and field balm.
Medicinal properties
It is important that you exercise caution
when considering using catnip products for
medicinal purposes; seek professional
advice before using them.
The leaves of catnip have traditionally been
chewed as a remedy for alleviating
toothaches. The inhabitants of Southern
Appalachia have used it since the eighteenth
century as a remedy for cold. Tea made
from catnip has been used to relieve
intestinal cramps and gas discomforts.
Recent researches show that consumption of
teas containing catnip has anti-cholinergic
effects.
Non-medicinal uses
Catnip oil is used in small quantities as a
scent in trapping bobcats and mountain
lions. Catnip is also used as stuffing in
animal toys for cats, such as bags and
‘mouse’. The dried, crushed leaves can be
stuffed into cloth pouches to make these
wonderful cat toys.
Catnip has been used for relief of insomnia
and prevention of nightmares, and has a
mild anti-spasmodic effect and is used to
treat cramps. The juice from the leaves was
used to stimulate menstrual flow. It has been
used in the treatment of children’s ailments,
such as colicky pain, flatulence and
restlessness. The herb has also been used as
a cold remedy, for hives, as a diaphoretic, a
refrigerant and an anodyne. (Please refer to
the Dictionary of Modern Herbalism by
Mills for further information on these
terms.)
There are many compounds (other than
nepatalactone) present in the catnip oil,
namely, citronellal, geraniol, citral,
carvacrol, and pulegone. These are all
excellent natural insecticides. Thymol
extracted from catnip is used as a fungicide.
Natural habitat
Catnip is native to Europe and was
introduced to North America. It spread
across the continent and is found in much of
the area. Native Americans did not associate
it with the advent of the Europeans and
included it in their inventory of useful
Poultices made from catnip have commonly
been used for toothaches, though they can be
applied to any part of the body. They have
been applied to sore breasts of nursing
mothers and to the neck for tonsillitis.
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two cuttings in a year (July and September).
It can be cut with a side-bar cutter mower
set at a height of about 10 inches.
Gathering catnip can be done with a
standard baler when the stem contains less
than 15 % moisture which can be checked
by bending the stem. The bales can be left
in the field for a couple of days to further
dry the stem. The stem should be broken in
several places for faster drying. They should
be turned at least once each day.
plants. Catnip is a common garden plant
now on the continent, but the plant is also
found growing in hedges, fence rows,
roadsides, railroad tracks, stream banks, and
water ditches.
Cultivation
Catnip is a hardy perennial that can be
grown in sandy soil within a pH range of 5.8
to 7.5 and annual precipitation between 16
to 51 inches. It grows well in full sun and
within the annual temperature range of 45 °F
to 66 °F.
If the herbs are to be used for oil distillation,
they should be sun cured for a couple of
days in the temperature range of 85 °F to
120 °F. The herb should dry to about 60 %
moisture content.
The plant can be propagated by seeds, either
in the fall or the spring. The seeds should be
frozen and refrozen a couple of times. This
stratifies the hard seed coat and enables the
seed to germinate more readily. After the
seed has been frozen and refrozen, it should
be soaked in water. This softens the casing.
The seeds should be grown in rows at a
spacing of 20 inches. After the seedlings
sprout, they should be thinned to about 20
inches apart. The plant can also be
propagated from root divisions taken from
the parent plant in spring.
The herb could be processed into a cut-andsift form or further to powder, and stored
preferably in a heated warehouse. In his
book, Miller (1998) also provides a catnip
farm plan. He presents in the form of tables
a series of schedules for operation and cost
per acre that need to be compiled before the
start of any small farm venture. For
example, the table of estimated production
costs for catnip during establishment year
outlines field operations by calendar month,
sets down the type of machinery and labor
used, and the hours used per acre and costs
per hour, during the first year of production.
Another table provides the same schedule
for the second and following years of
production.
Harvest, storage, and
processing
The flowering tops should be harvested
when the plant is in full bloom, by cutting
the plant back to few inches above the
ground. The climate of most areas allows
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References and
information resources
Marketing
Catnip is marketed as an dietary supplement
to promote a healthy immune system and
general well being during the cold and flu
season. It is marketed in the form of tablets,
capsules, fluid extracts (glycerin and alcohol
extract), tinctures, ointments, powder and
sprays.
(You may be able to find some of these or
other publications in your local library.
Another valuable resource is your local
cooperative extension office.)
Anonymous. 1979. Toxic reactions to herbal
teas. Nutrition and the M. D., 5 (8): 4.
Catnip-based products are marketed by
many manufacturers of herbal products,
including Frontier Herbs, Herbs Etc.,
Nutraceutical Corp. (with the KAL and
SOLARAY line of supplements), and
Nature’s Way.
Bourrel, C. F., G. Michel Perineau, and J.
M. Bessiere. 1993. Catnip (Nepata cataria
L.) essestial oil: Analysis of chemical
constituents, bacteriostatic and fungistatic
properties. Journal of Essential Oil
Research, 5 (2): 159-167.
A market also exists among mass market tea
blenders who use catnip among other herbs
as a flavoring. Catnip leaf is also used in the
manufacture of animal toys and there exists
a big market for that too.
Duke, James A. 1997. The Green Pharmacy.
Rodale Press. Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
Ferguson, J. M., W. W. Weeks, and W. T.
Fike. 1988. Production of Catnip in North
Carolina. In: Advances in new crops:
proceedings of the First National
Symposium NEW CROPS: Research,
Development, Economics. Indianapolis,
Indiana. Oct 23-26, 1988. p. 527-528. Jules
Janick and James E. Simon (eds.). John
Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York.
Conservation and
management concerns
Catnip grows from rootstock and is selfsowing. Harvesting stimulates further
growth from the rootstock. Care should be
taken that some plants are left in the area
being harvested. This would allow reseeding
of the area. It should also be remembered
that 60% of the rootstock dies when the
plant goes to seed. Therefore, some trade-off
must be made on how much seed should be
left in the area when harvesting. It is better
to reseed the area if the rootstock is older.
Foster, S. and J. A. Duke. 1990. A Field
Guide to Medicinal Plants: Eastern and
Central North America. Houghton Mifflin
Company. New York.
Grieve, M. 1971. A Modern Herbal. Dover
Publications. New York. (Vol. I & II) 902 p.
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Sherry, C. J. and J. A. Koontz. 1979.
Pharmacologic studies of “Catnip tea”: the
hot water extract of Nepata cataria.
Quarterly Journal of Crude Drug Research,
17: 68-72.
Griggs, Barbara. 1981. Green Pharmacy: A
History of Herbal Medicine. Viking Press.
New York.
Grognet, J. 1990. Catnip: Its uses and
effects, past and present. The Canadian
Veterinary Journal, 31 (6): 455-456.
Simon, James E., Alen F. Chadwick, and
Lyle E. Craker. 1984. Herbs: An Indexed
Bibliography, 1971-1980: The Scientific
Literature on Selected Herbs, and Aromatic
and Medicinal Plants of the Temperate
Zone. Archon Books. Hamden, Connecticut.
Hart, B. L. 1974. The catnip response.
Feline Practice, 4 (6): 8,12.
Hutchens, Alma R. 1991. Indian Herbalogy
of North America. Shambhala Publications,
Inc., Boston. 382 p.
Jackson, B. and A. Reed. 1969. Catnip and
the alteration of consciousness. Journal of
the American Medical Association, 207:
1349-1350.
Thomas, Margaret G. and David R.
Schumann. 1993. Income Opportunities in
Special Forest Products: Self-Help
Suggestions for Rural Entrepreneurs.
Agriculture Information Bulletin AIB-666.
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Washington, D.C.
Miller, R. A. 1998. The Potential of Herbs
as a Cash Crop. Acres U.S.A. Kansas City,
Missouri.
Todd, N. B. 1962. Inheritance of the catnip
response in domestic cats. The Journal of
Heredity, 53: 54-56.
___. 1988. Native Plants of Commercial
Importance. Oak, Inc. Grants Pass, Oregon.
Tucker, Arthur O. and Sharon S. Tucker.
1988. Catnip and the catnip response.
Economic Botany, 42 (2): 214-231.
Mills, Simon. 1985. The Dictionary of
Modern Herbalism. Thorsons Publishing
Group. New York.
Tyler, V. E. 1987. The New Honest Herbal.
George F. Stickly Company. Philadelphia.
Weiss, Gaea and Shandor Weiss. 1985.
Growing and Using Healing Herbs. Rodale
Press. Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
Morton, J. F. 1977. Major Medicinal Plants.
Thomas Books. Springfield, Illinois.
Reader’s Digest. 1986. Magic and Medicine
of Plants. The Reader’s Digest Association,
Inc. Pleasantville, New York.
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Electronic resources
(The following are home pages for
companies focused on herbal medicines)
(This web site can be queried for
ethnobotanical information on catnip)
Frontier Natural Products Co-op
http://www.frontiercoop.com/
Phytochemical Database, USDA - ARS NGRL, Beltsville Agricultural Research
Center, Beltsville, Maryland
http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/ethnobot.html
Nutraceutical Corp.
http://www.nutraceutical.com/
Kress. H. Catnip photo.
http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/herbpics.ht
ml
(The following two web sites are for general
interest in medicinal plants)
The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia
http://www.herbal-ahp.org/
The National Center for the Preservation of
Medicinal Herbs
http://www.ncpmh.org/
This fact sheet was written and prepared by
Soumitri Das, Laura Shillington, and Tom
Hammett at the College of Natural
Resources, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg,
Virginia.
This is part of a series of fact sheets on non-timber forest products. The full set of fact sheets is available at the
Non-timber Forest Products website: http://www.sfp.forprod.vt.edu/
Please give us your comments on this fact sheet and suggestions for future fact sheets. Direct your comments
to Tom Hammett, Department of Wood Science and Forest Products, 210 Cheatham Hall, Virginia Tech,
Blacksburg VA 24061-0323. Phone: (540)-231-2716. E-mail: [email protected].
 January 2001
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin,
religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities
who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc) should contact USDA’s TARGET
Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
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