Passifloraincarnata.Passion flower Family: Passifloraceae
The blue passion flower; Passiflora caerulea is the national flower
of Paraguay. Passionfruit vine-Passiflora
edulis, produces the well known passion fruit. PART USED:Leaves, dried aerial
parts- gathered during the fruiting period. ACTIONS GROUP: Nervous- Hypnotics
1. Hypnotic.[1,2,3]
2. Anodyne.[1,2,3]
3. Antispasmodic.[1,2,3]
4. Sedative nervine.[1,2,3]
CNS depressant activities.[6]
5. Hypotensive.[3] INDICATIONS
1. Insomnia.[3]Anxiety. Neuralgia.[1]
Hysteria.[1] Mental and nervous irritability.
Nervous headache. Stresses such as overwork, examinations, stage fright. Convulsions.
Generalised seizures.[1]
2. Nervous tachycardia.[1,3]
Hypertension with nervous causes- lowers blood pressure.[3]
3. Dysmenorrhea.
4. Nervous stomach.
5. Diarrhea.
6. Spasmodic asthma.[1]
7. Fevers with restlessness and insomnia Inflammation of the eyes, dimness of
vision. SPECIFIC INDICATIONS: Insomnia.[1] COMBINATIONS
- Sedative action, use with Valerian
and Hops. PREPARATIONS
3X /day
Dried herb 0.25-1g,[1] or by
infusion[1] 1:20.
Fluid extract 1:1 in 25% alcohol[5]
0.5-1 ml.[1,3] 45% alcohol.[1]
Tincture 1:8 in 45% alcohol 0.5-2 ml.[1]
Note- Note the low dosage.[1,2]
ORIGIN: North America DESCRIPTION: This herb is a climber, reaching up to about 9 m in length,
bearing ovate or cordate leaves, palmately 3 lobed, coiled tendrils and white,
cross shaped flowers. References
[1] British Herbal Pharmacopoeia 1983
Published by the British Herbal Medicine Association ISBN 0 903032 07 4.
[2] A Complete English Dictionary of Medicinal Terms in Chinese Acupuncture
and Herbalism 1981 - Henry Lu Chinese Foundations of Natural Health- The Academy
of Oriental Heritage, Vancouver,
[3] Potter's New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations R.C.
Wren Revised by Elizabeth M. Williamson and Fred J Evans. First published in
Great Britain in 1988 and reprinted in 1989 and 1994 by the C. W. Daniel Company
Limited. 1 Church Path, Saffron Walden Essex. Published 1988 Printed and bound
by Biddles, Guildford ISBN 085207 1973.
[4] Mediherb- A herbal extract company based in Warwick Qld. 4370 Australia
www.mediherb.com
[5] The Pharmaceutical Plant Company Pty Ltd ppcherbs.com.au
[6] The Merck Index, 9th Ed. (1976) Pub. Merck Inc. Rahway, NJ, USA Images
1. en.wikipedia.org
by Realtube CC
BY-SA 4.0
2. plants.usda.gov
3. en.wikipedia.org
by Jhenderson777
Public Domain
4. leereich.com
by Lee Reich
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the
use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally. Constituents
Alkaloids; harmine,[1,2,3,4,5,6]
harman, harmol, harmalol, and passiflorine.[2,3,4,5,6]
Flavonoids;[1] apigenin and various
glycosides, homoorientin, isovitexin, kaempferol, luteolin, orientin, quercetin,
rutin, saponaretin, saponarin and vitexin.[7,8]
8-pyrone derivative, sterols, sugar, gums.[9,10]
Cyanogenic glycosides. References
[1] British Herbal Pharmacopoeia 1983 Published by the British Herbal Medicine
Association ISBN 0 903032 07 4.
[2] Bennati, E. and Fedeli, E. (1968) Boll. Chim. Farm. 107, 716
[3] Bennati, E (1968) Boll. Chim. Farm. 110, 664
[4] Lutomski, J. and Malek, B. (19l75) Planta Med. 27, 381
[5] Loehdefink, J. and Kating, H. (1974) Planta Med. 25, 101
[6] Poethke, W. et al. (1970) Planta Med. 18, 303
[7] Schilcher, H. (1968) Z. Naturforsch. 23B, 1393
[8] Proliac, A. and Raynaud, J. (1986) Pharmazie 41 (9),673
[9] Aoyagi, N. et al. (1974) Chem. Pharm. Bull. 22, 1008
[10] Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients used in Food Drugs and Cosmetics,
Albert Y. Leung. Pub. John Wiley & Sons Inc. (1980) NY
Research
The alkaloids and the flavonoids are both reported to have sedative activity in
animals,[2] as is the 8-pyrone
derivative.[1]
Apigenin is well-known for its anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory action.[3,4] References
[1] Lutomski, J. and Wrocinski, T. (1960) Buil. Inst. Ros. Lec. 6, 176
[2] Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients used in Food Drugs and Cosmetics,
Albert Y. Leung. Pub. John Wiley & Sons Inc. (1980) NY
[3] Middleton, E. and Drzewiecki, G. (1984) Biochem. Pharmacol. 33, 3333
[4] Busse, W. W. et al. (1984) J. All. Clin. Immunol. 73, 801
Correct Identification of Passiflora incarnata Linn., a Promising Herbal
Anxiolytic and Sedative.
Dhawan K, Kumar R, Kumar S, Sharma A. Abstract
Passiflora incarnata Linn. and Passiflora edulis Sims are the two important plants
of the family Passifloraceae that have often been reported as synonymous because
of their identical morphological and microscopic characteristics. P. incarnata
is a popular sedative and anxiolytic, whereas, P. edulis is rarely reported to
possess significant central nervous system depressant activity. P. edulis, as
the name of the species reflects, is mainly grown for edible purposes. During
a survey of literature on the genus Passiflora, it was noticed that in many references
the two plants are mentioned synonymously. The designation by Sir William J. Hooker
in 1843, followed by the citation of P. edulis as the synonym of P. incarnata
in Index Kewensis of 1895, not only substantiated the controversial identity but
also caused confusion to researchers. The prevailing confusion might have led
to improper selection of the bioactive plant, thereby accounting for inconclusive
and contradictory pharmacological reports on either of the two plants. In this
work, we establish key identification parameters to differentiate P. incarnata
from P. edulis. Various leaf constants such as vein-islet number, vein-termination
number, stomatal number, and stomatal index are different for the two species.
Physicochemical parameters such as ash values and extractive values and the thin
layer chromatography profile of the petroleum ether extract of P. incarnata and
P. edulis are also distinct and different. Various clinical uses of P. incarnata
for anxiety and allied diseases are discussed.
PMID: 12639407 DOI: 10.1089/109662001753165710 J Med Food. 2001 Autumn;4(3):137-144.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Comparative biological activity study on Passiflora incarnata and P. edulis.
Dhawan K, Kumar S, Sharma A. Abstract
The correct identity of Passiflora incarnata and P. edulis was recently established
using various parameters. To strengthen these findings, the anxiolytic activity
of these two controversial plants has been comparatively investigated. The methanol
extract of P. incarnata exhibited significant anxiolytic activity at an oral dose
of 125 mg/kg, whereas P. edulis was devoid of any significant activity.
PMID: 11543974 Fitoterapia. 2001 Aug;72(6):698-702.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Passiflora
incarnata. Passion flower Family: Passifloraceae
