Herb of the Month - Passion Flower

Herb of the Month

Passion Flower

Medical herbalist Dee Atkinson explains why she uses Passion Flower in cases of stress and anxiety
 
The beautiful Passion Flower Passiflora incarnate is a common wildflower in the US, and a popular garden plant in the UK, where it is often found climbing up fences and walls, flowering in July with large bluish, purple-white flower heads.
 
The common name Passion Flower comes from the supposed resemblance of the blossoms in the centre to Christ’s crown of thorns at the Crucifixion.  As with many herbs, passion flower has been used medicinally for centuries, its name showing links back to times when many churches and monasteries had healing medicinal gardens.
 
The early herbalists often used very descriptive names for their remedies, leaving you in no doubt as to their use. One of my favourite formulas is a ‘Nerve debility tonic’.  This mixture was prescribed to help combat the ‘stresses and strains of modern living and to support the body through times of anxiety’. One of the main ingredients of this formula was Passion Flower.

How it works

Passion Flower contains alkaloids, glycosides and steroids and it is thought that the alkaloid, which used to be known as passiflorine, is the main active ingredient. Passion Flower is considered to be mildly sedative, helping the body to relax as well as having anti-spasmodic actions.
 
When stressed and tense, we often hold the tension in our shoulders, resulting in neck and shoulder pains, and here passion flower is specific. I have also had a lot of success using it in cases of restless leg syndrome. 

In practice

Traditionally, passion flower has been used to ease anxiety, especially in cases of an over active brain with lots of unwanted thoughts going round and round. It can also help to solve sleep problems due to mental stress and to ease tension headaches.
 
In my practice I use Passion Flower in cases of stress and anxiety, often as the main herb in a prescription, building around it to support the other body systems. Women going through a stressful menopause also respond well to Passion Flower. 

How to take it

Passion flower is a very gentle herb with a supportive action on the body. It is so effective and well tolerated by most people that I suspect we are going to here much more about in the next few years.
 
I use it as a tea, tincture and in capsules. It is very effective when taken as a bedtime tea for sleep problems or in capsule form at a dose of about 400 to 450 mg for anxiety and stress. As with all herbal remedies you need to take Passion Flower for at least a month to get the full benefit. If you are taking it for stress and anxiety, you may need stay on it for at least three months to give the body time to heal. The one exception to this is if you are using Passion Flower to help you sleep. In this case a single dose of the herb, or a cup of Passion Flower tea will help you to drop off in no time at all.
 
 
Dee Atkinson MCPP, Medical Herbalist, Napiers the Herbalists 
 
Passion Flower can be found in Relaxherb - A traditional herbal medicinal product used for the temporary relief of symptoms associated with stress such as mild anxiety, based on traditional use only.  Always read the label.