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One study found that jatamansi, a herb used as a calmative, only partly improves hand steadiness in a seated test and does not raise the score more than training alone

1 study · 45 archers measured

ForContextAgainst20102015202020252008, for, n = 452008, context, n = 45
Each circle is a study: its position gives the year, its row whether it is for, against or context, its size how many participants it measured. Light circles are studies on other populations or without archers.

There is a single study, and it sets jatamansi against ordinary training. In India, 45 national-level archers aged 16 to 28 were randomly split into three groups for four weeks: one took jatamansi, a root from Indian traditional medicine that the authors describe as sedative; one worked with elastic bands for the shoulders and arms, together with respiratory muscle exercises; the third carried on with usual training, which the other two groups kept up as well. In the steadiness test, seated, holding a probe inside a 4 mm hole for 60 seconds, those taking the root touched the edges for less time than the controls (t = 3.97 with the left arm and 2.69 with the right), but not less often; on the shooting test, 12 arrows at 10 and 20 yards, their group did not differ from the controls, while the band group beat both. The result carries little weight, for four reasons: the paper reports no means or standard deviations, so there is no telling how much the measures changed; there was no placebo and those taking the root knew it; the steadiness test is done without a bow in hand and the shooting test was designed for students; the venue is a regional pharmacology journal. Anxiety, which the authors put forward as the root's route of action, was not measured, and neither was the safety of the preparation.

Also phrased as: "jatamansi and archery"; "nardostachys jatamansi in archers"; "calming herbs for a steady hand"; "natural remedies for tremor while aiming"; "calming supplements before competition"

In practice

Among archers there is a common idea that a natural calming remedy, a herbal tea or supplement, helps keep the hand steady on competition days, as a lighter version, assumed to be harmless, of the drugs that lower the heart rate.

Evidence

  • 2008
    For Archers Published later

    45 national-level Indian archers aged 16 to 28, 31 men and 14 women, randomly assigned to three groups for four weeks: jatamansi root extract, or elastic bands with respiratory exercises, or usual training alone. Against the controls, jatamansi reduced total contact time in the steadiness test, seated with a probe in a 4 mm hole for 60 seconds (t = 3.97, p < 0.001 on the left; t = 2.69, p < 0.05 on the right), but not the number of contacts, and on the 12-arrow test at 10 and 20 yards the group's score did not differ from the controls'. The paper reports no means or standard deviations, the controls took no placebo, blinding of the assessors is not reported and the venue is a regional journal.

    Effects of Strength Training and Jatamansi on reducing Hand Tremor amongst archers · Delhila Laishram, Rajender Kumar, Jaspal S. Sandhu

  • 2008
    Context Archers Published later

    In the same study the group doing band work with breathing exercises beat jatamansi both on steadiness (number of contacts t = 2.83 on the left and 3.19 on the right; contact time t = 4.19 and 5.19) and on score (t = 3.41, p < 0.005). Both measures could therefore pick up a change within four weeks, and the lack of a score difference between jatamansi and the controls is not simply down to an insensitive test. The comparison concerns a different intervention, though, one that mixes strengthening with breathing work.

    Effects of Strength Training and Jatamansi on reducing Hand Tremor amongst archers · Delhila Laishram, Rajender Kumar, Jaspal S. Sandhu

Status history

  1. 2008 Reported The first and only study of jatamansi in archers arrives. In India, 45 national-level archers are randomly split into three groups for four weeks: jatamansi, or elastic bands with respiratory exercises, or usual training alone. Compared with the controls, those taking the root touch the edges of a 4 mm hole for less time in the seated steadiness test (t = 3.97 on the left and 2.69 on the right), but not less often, and on the test of 12 arrows at 10 and 20 yards the score does not differ from the controls'. The means, a placebo and a measure taken with a bow in hand are all missing, and the venue is a regional journal: reported, in the form of the result.

Related

Related articles

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). One study found that jatamansi, a herb used as a calmative, only partly improves hand steadiness in a seated test and does not raise the score more than training alone (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/jatamansi-hand-tremor-score

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_jatamansitremorepunteggio,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {One study found that jatamansi, a herb used as a calmative, only partly improves hand steadiness in a seated test and does not raise the score more than training alone},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/jatamansi-hand-tremor-score},
  note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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