Does Passionflower Work?

Passionflower is a very popular medicinal herb, perhaps most known for its use as an alternative treatment for anxiety and insomnia. Before using passionflower, you'll likely ask your health care provider, "Does passionflower work?" The answer to this question will depend entirely on your intended use for the herb. Although effective in some capacities, passionflower is not a panacea.

Here's an overview of the evidence supporting passionflower's most common uses.

What Passionflower Probably Works For

Overall, there is fairly solid scientific evidence supporting pasionflower's use as an anxiolytic, or a treatment for anxiety. Several well-designed studies have found that passionflower effectively relieves symptoms of anxiety associated with generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, and the psychiatric condition known as "adjustment disorder with anxious mood." Passionflower also reduces withdrawal symptoms in people who stop taking narcotic drugs. These uses are well-founded and ultimately evidence-based.

What Passionflower Might Work For

There isn't enough evidence to confirm or refute some of the uses attributed to passionflower. Although some of them have been studies, the trials were poorly designed or too small to yield conclusive results. Passionflower may help to ease symptoms of fibromyalgia, epilepsy, hypertension, asthma, hemorrhoids, insomnia, burns, and digestive problems caused by anxiety. Although it may be worthwhile to try passionflower for these uses, understand that they are experimental and as yet unproven.

What Passionflower Does Not Work For

Passionflower does not appear to be an effective treatment for liver disease; it may actually worsen these conditions. There is also no evidence that passionflower can treat cancer, HIV/AIDS or any other potentially fatal disease. If you have any of these conditions, do not rely on alternative medicine or self-treatment alone as a method for treating these diseases. Consult your health care provider before using any herbal supplement.