Passionflower

Passiflora incarnata · Passion flower · Maypop

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Anxiety¹ Preprocedural anxiety² Stress³ Sleep quality³ Benzodiazepine tapering⁴ Childhood ADHD symptoms⁵	Pregnancy⁶ Hypersensitivity⁷

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is a climbing vine native to the southeastern United States and Central and South America, traditionally used as a sedative⁶. Its calming effect is attributed to modulation of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system⁸. Supplementation is used for stress and stress-related sleep problems³. It is also used as an add-on during benzodiazepine tapering and for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, where trials are few.

Two systematic reviews rated the anxiety evidence as strong or high quality, while a systematic review of randomized trials found the effect less evident in mild symptoms. For sleep, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) reports improved total sleep time but mixed effects on falling and staying asleep⁶. In a 2025 laboratory analysis of European products, most passionflower food supplements failed identity or content specifications, while registered herbal medicinal products conformed⁹. Products come as teas, tinctures, and capsules, with about 1,700 products listing passionflower in the US label database, mostly liquids and capsules; see Form comparison.

Pregnancy is the most consequential exclusion: NCCIH states passionflower should not be used during pregnancy because it may induce uterine contractions⁶. Per NCCIH, anesthesia may slow the nervous system too much, so it asks patients taking passionflower within 2 weeks of scheduled surgery to talk with their health care provider⁶.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

61 sources, 46 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources