An aerial-parts preparation from a climbing vine, used for anxiety and restlessness. It is usually taken as tea, tincture or dried extract, often blended with valerian or lemon balm.
The passionflower literature is small and dominated by pre-operative anxiety studies, where a single dose was compared against placebo or a benzodiazepine before dental or surgical procedures. Those are unusual conditions with high baseline anxiety, and the results do not transfer straightforwardly to everyday use. Species substitution with other Passiflora species is common.
Sometimes standardised to 3.5% vitexin or total flavonoids — a product without this marker may not resemble what was studied.
Also known as
Maypop, Passiflora, Apricot vine
Regulation: Registered in the EU as a traditional herbal medicinal product for mild nervous tension, a use category based on long-standing use rather than efficacy trials.
What the research used
The amounts, forms and durations published trials of Passionflower actually administered.
These are the amounts published trials administered — not a recommendation, and not a dose to copy. Trial participants were screened, supervised and given a characterised preparation. What is in a retail bottle is frequently not what was studied, and the amount that suits one person is not general advice.
Studied for Pre-procedural anxiety
260–700 mg
Limited
Dried extract, single dose 30–90 minutes beforehand · Single dose
Trials in dental and surgical settings used one dose in a high-anxiety situation. Whether that says anything about daily use for generalised anxiety is unknown.
Studied for Generalised anxiety and sleep
45–90 mg
Not enough
Extract or tea, daily · 2–4 weeks
Very few trials, small samples, and combination products are common, which makes attributing an effect to passionflower alone unreliable.
This is general information about food, not medical advice. It cannot diagnose, treat or replace guidance from a clinician who knows your history.
When it was taken
Each window says whether a trial compared it against an alternative, or whether it is convention and pharmacology. Most timing advice is the second kind.
None of the timings below were directly compared in a trial. They reflect how the research happened to dose, or what the pharmacology implies — which is not the same as a timing being better.
🌙Evening
Not enough
Sleep-related use is dosed before bed by convention. Pre-procedural trials dosed 30 to 90 minutes before the event because that is when the anxiety was being measured, not because timing was compared.
Timing was not directly compared. This reflects convention or how the compound behaves in the body, not a trial showing this window works better.
The evidence in depth
Best supported: Limited
What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how promising the supplement sounds. How we rate evidence.
Some small trials report reduced anxiety before dental and surgical procedures, in a few cases similar to a low benzodiazepine dose. Trials are small, short and mostly in one clinical setting, so this is early work rather than a settled finding.
Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.
There is not enough human research to say passionflower improves sleep. The few small studies used subjective diaries and often tested it inside a blend.
Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.
Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.
Things to know
Interactions, contraindications and dose limits, most serious first. Concentrated extracts interact with medication in ways the whole plant does not, so this section carries more weight here than it does on a food page.
Drowsiness, dizziness and confusion have been reported, and effects add to benzodiazepines, alcohol, sedating antihistamines and anaesthetics. Driving after a dose is inadvisable until the effect is known.
Worth knowing
Species substitution
Passiflora incarnata is frequently substituted with Passiflora edulis or other species that have not been studied. Botanical verification is rarely provided.
Avoid
Pregnancy
Some Passiflora constituents have uterine-stimulant activity in animal work, and human safety data are absent. It is generally avoided in pregnancy.
Interaction
Possible effect on anticoagulation
Interacts withWarfarin
An isolated case report describes altered anticoagulation with a passionflower-containing product, so people on warfarin should mention it to their prescriber.