Passionflower

Figure 1. The Passionflower fruit.

The Passionflower or Passiflora incarnata is a fast-growing perennial vine with climbing or trailing stems. It is found as a wildflower in the United States and in cultivation for its fruit and beautiful bluish purple blooms. The Passionflower is also sometimes known as maypop, purple passionflower, true passionflower, wild apricot, and wild passion vine.

Historically, Passionflowers have been used as a herbal remedy for its adaptogenic benefits including treatment for anxiety, insomnia, and hypertension. They are also used as a remedy for other health conditions such as diarrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, neuralgia, burns, and haemorrhoids.

Today, Passionflower is used as a supplement for the phytochemicals produced by the plant. The main bioactive substances identified in Passionflower include polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, anthocyanins and other natural antioxidants, with the leaves containing the highest concentration of flavonoids. In particular, the polyphenols mainly belong to the flavones C-glucoside class and have high potential antioxidant properties.

Taken as a dietary supplement, Passionflower is commonly promoted to help with insomnia and anxiety. The phytochemicals in Passionflower may boost the level of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid in the brain which works to lower brain activity.

Passionflower is also promoted to help with pain, heart rhythm problems, menopausal symptoms, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, there is insufficient scientific evidence presently to conclusively determine the efficacy in these applications.