Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
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Passion flower is a climbing vine from the southeastern United States. The dried leaves, stems and flowers are used as a calming herb. The plant is also called maypop.
People take it for mild anxiety, restlessness and trouble sleeping. It is sold as tea, tincture, capsules and tablets. It often appears in blended "sleep" or "calm" formulas.
The human evidence is thin. A few small trials hint at a mild calming effect, but they are short and not consistent. Long traditional use is not proof that it works, and it is not proof that it is safe.
No one has pinned down how passion flower works.
The main idea involves GABA, a brain chemical that quiets nerve signals. In animal and cell studies, extracts appear to raise GABA activity. Some of the plant's flavonoids bind the same receptor sites as calming drugs in lab tests.
Whether this happens in people, at the amounts they actually take, is not established. Lab and animal work shows what a plant can do in a dish, not what it does in you.
There is a second problem. Products differ a lot in strength and plant part, so two bottles may not act the same way.
Passion flower is sold mainly as dried herb and as extracts. Most products use the leaves, stems and flowers rather than the fruit.
Common forms include:
Dried herb for tea, loose or in tea bags.
Liquid tincture, made with alcohol or glycerine.
Capsules and tablets of dried herb or dried extract.
Blended formulas with valerian, hops, lemon balm or magnesium.
The fruit, called maypop, is eaten as food in the southern United States. Eating the fruit is not the same as taking a concentrated extract.
Names on labels can mislead. Passiflora incarnata is the species used as a calming herb. Other Passiflora species sold as garden plants have not been studied the same way.
Passion flower has a long record in American folk and Eclectic medicine. Eclectic doctors of the late 1800s wrote about it for restlessness, broken sleep and "nervous" complaints.
It was listed in the United States National Formulary for part of the 20th century. It was later dropped, as proof of effect was lacking.
In Europe, regulators allow it as a traditional herbal remedy for mild stress and sleep problems. That status rests on long use and a basic safety record, not on strong trial results.
Stop taking it and get urgent medical help if you have:
Swelling of the lips, face or throat, or trouble breathing.
A racing, pounding or uneven heartbeat.
Fainting, severe dizziness or deep confusion.
Yellow skin or eyes, or dark urine.
Make a routine doctor's appointment if anxiety or poor sleep lasts more than two to four weeks, or gets worse.
Seek help the same day if you have thoughts of harming yourself. A herb is not the right tool for that.
In the United States, passion flower is sold as a dietary supplement. The FDA has not approved it as a medicine for any condition.
In the United Kingdom and much of the European Union, some products are registered as traditional herbal medicines for mild stress and sleep. That label is based on long use, not on proof of effect.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
Reviewed by the HealisticMD editorial team How we grade evidence →
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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