Passionflower

The passion flower is native to the United States and Brazil. It grows preferably in dry soils. The plant has woody, sarmentose stems covered by a grayish bark; axillary filiform tendrils; alternate, palmate, trilobed, finely dentate leaves terminated by glandular petioles. The solitary, odorous, white flowers are borne by articulate peduncles. The flowers have five petals, sepals and stamens, three stigmas and a crown of filaments. The dehiscent berries (fruits) are almost spherical and contain ovate seeds covered by the aril. The parts used are the leaves and flowers. More frequently, all the branches are used, complete with leaves harvested after the appearance of the first fruits.

Passionfl ower is a perennial found in the tropics of the Americas.

Passionfl ower is used as a sedative and to treat anxiety, sleep disorders, attention defi cit-hyperactivity disorder, seizures, neuralgia, nervous tachycardia, restlessness, and opiate withdrawal. Topically passionfl ower is used for hemorrhoids, burns, and inflammation.

Main constituents include alkaloids (harmine, harmalot, harmane), flavonoids, maltol and cyanogenic glycosides. Flavonoids (2.5%) include flavone di-C-glycosides, shaftoside, isovitexin isoshaptoside, vicenin, isoorientin, saponarin, lucenin and passioflorine. The passion flower also contains phenolic, fatty, palmitic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic, formic, butyric and myristic acids.