Passion flower herb - cut

According to Ellingwood, Passion Flower is, “specific for wakefulness, disturbed sleep from mental worry, and exhaustion from cerebral fullness and from excitement, especially with feebleness. Anemic patients are relieved by it, also the wakefulness of infants and the aged. It is not usually efficient if the wakefulness is caused by pain, nor when the patient is in full strength. Nervous excitement, and irritation with muscular twitching, evidences of approaching convulsions in childhood, with marked cerebral fullness are indications, and it is given at any time preceding or during convulsive paroxysms if it can be swallowed. It is indicated in convulsions of any character.”

In addition, he recommends it for “convulsions of childhood, severe spasms, epilepsy, chorea, tetanus, hysteria, persistent hiccough, and the sleeplessness of tuberculosis.”

Indicated Usages - Internal:

Indicated Usages - External:

Excerpts from the book Nutritional Herbology

Homeopaths have used Passion Flower to treat pain and insomnia. Herbalists have had great success using it to treat imbalances of the nervous system including insomnia, nervous tension and stress headaches. Besides being an excellent herbal sedative, Passion Flower relieves smooth muscle spasms. This makes it useful for treating spasmodic dysmenorrhea, colic, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, blood pressure, and epilepsy.

Passion Flower also has an antifungal principle called passicol that shows intermediate killing power on candida species.

Passion Flower is high or very high on the following nutrients:

Excerpts from the book The How to Herb Book

• Acts as a mild sedative; relaxing
• Calming for high blood pressure.
• Useful in nervousness, insomnia, headaches.

Has been used in the following:

Tid Bits You'll Want to Know:

Uses: It's mostly used for internal applications: teas, tinctures, capsules, food recipes, etc. Our two favorite uses are in teas and meals. It has a rather mild flavor so you hardly know it's there. Like many other bulk herbs, we add it to many dishes (salads, meat dishes, soups, stews, etc.) in small amounts for added nutrition and fiber without affecting the flavor. Passion flower can be used to benefit men, women (including before, during or after pregnancy, and nursing) and children. It can be used as often as you would like.

Storage: The nutrients in Passion flower are very sensitive to air and light exposure. It should be kept in an airtight container and stored in a dark, dry, and cool place. Refrigeration or freezing is great but not necessary.

Questions?: Check out Frequently Asked Questions.

margaret May 15, 2008 at 10:19 pm

THIS IS GREAT USED IN A NIGHT TIME SLEEP TEA,,MY DAUGHTER HAS MS ..THIS HAS HELPED HER TO GET RID OF PRESCRIPTION SLEEP AID..

Forrest January 11, 2011 at 12:54 pm

I tried this as a tea a few days after it arrived (Shipping was fast!) I mixed 1 tbsp in a cup of hot water and drank it on an empty stomach. Effects were almost immediate; even smelling it prior to drinking had a relaxing effect on me. I recommend this herb as a mild sleep aid or just something to relieve stress during the day. Since this herb is a MAO-Inhibitor it's advised not to take this with certain fruits, meats, caffeine and alcohol, although I have mixed before with no harm done.