[3] Valerenic acid acts as a subtype-selective GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulator via a binding site in the transmembrane domain at the β+α− interface.

[4] At receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes (frog eggs) it was shown that only assemblies incorporating β2 or β3 subunits were stimulated by valerenic acid.

A study in mice demonstrated that a single amino acid substitution (N265M) in the β3 subunit severely decreases the anxiolytic effect.

This serotonin receptor subtype is distributed in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, a tiny brain region implicated in the sleep-wake cycle.

[6] A study in 2006 found valerian extract as well as valerenic acid to inhibit NF-κB, a protein complex that controls the transcription of DNA, in HeLa (cultured human cancer) cells.