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Passionflower
Passionflower — what the European monograph actually supports, what it is not for, the form and how long it is meant to be used, side effects, and the 3 medicine interactions documented for it.
This is a reference page, not a diagnosis and not a prescription. Herbal products are real pharmacology: they have effects, side effects and interactions with medicines. Tell your doctor and your pharmacist everything you take, including teas and supplements, and never stop or change a prescribed medicine because of anything you read here.
What it is
Passiflora incarnata L. — aerial parts (Passiflorae herba)
Local names across the region this site serves: kannatuslill (ET) · kärsimyskukka (FI) · пассифлора (RU).
Grouped here under Sleep, stress and calm. Regulatory position: EU herbal monograph — traditional use.
What the evidence supports
The registered indication: Relief of mild symptoms of mental stress and to aid sleep.
Passionflower is almost never sold on its own. It appears in combination tablets with valerian, hops and lemon balm, and that is precisely what makes its evidence unreadable: a trial of a four-herb product cannot tell you what the passionflower contributed. The traditional-use registration is for the aerial parts of Passiflora incarnata. It is worth being clear that this is not the passion fruit plant — that is Passiflora edulis, a different species whose fruit is a food and whose leaves are not the medicinal part.
C — Traditional use only Plausible from thirty or more years of use, which is what a traditional-use registration means. No clinical evidence was required and none has settled it.
What it is not for
Anxiety disorders, panic, or as a substitute for a prescribed sedative someone wants to stop. Stopping a benzodiazepine is a supervised process, not a herbal swap.
Form, strength and how long
Dried aerial parts as an infusion, liquid extract or dry-extract tablets, usually in combination products.
Duration. Short-term use over days to a couple of weeks.
No gram figure appears on this page on purpose. The plant part, the extraction solvent and the drug-to-extract ratio together define a preparation, and a number taken from one does not describe another. The reasoning is set out on the hub; the amount that applies to you is the one printed on the pack you are holding, and a pharmacist will read it with you.
Side effects
Drowsiness and dizziness are the common ones. Rare hypersensitivity reactions have been reported.
Who should avoid it
Not established in pregnancy or breastfeeding; adults and adolescents only in most registrations. Do not drive if it makes you drowsy.
Interactions with medicines
| Medicine or substance | What is described |
|---|---|
| Sleeping tablets, benzodiazepines and sedating antihistamines | Additive sedation with sleeping tablets, benzodiazepines, sedating antihistamines and opioids. |
| Alcohol | The same additive sedation with alcohol; the combination is what produces unexpected next-morning grogginess. |
| Planned surgery and anaesthesia | Mention it before a planned anaesthetic, with everything else you take. |
The reverse view — start from the medicine rather than the plant — is in the medicine, food and alcohol interactions reference, and summarised for every herb on this site.
Sources: European Medicines Agency — Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC), European Union herbal monographs · NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health — herb fact sheets · checked 2026-09-06
Frequently asked questions
What is passionflower used for?
Relief of mild symptoms of mental stress and to aid sleep. Passionflower is almost never sold on its own. It appears in combination tablets with valerian, hops and lemon balm, and that is precisely what makes its evidence unreadable: a trial of a four-herb product cannot tell you what the passionflower contributed. The traditional-use registration is for the aerial parts of Passiflora incarnata. It is worth being clear that this is not the passion fruit plant — that is Passiflora edulis, a different species whose fruit is a food and whose leaves are not the medicinal part.
Does passionflower work?
Graded C here: Plausible from thirty or more years of use, which is what a traditional-use registration means. No clinical evidence was required and none has settled it. Anxiety disorders, panic, or as a substitute for a prescribed sedative someone wants to stop. Stopping a benzodiazepine is a supervised process, not a herbal swap.
How much passionflower should I take?
This reference does not print gram figures, because they do not transfer between preparations of different extract strength. What can be said honestly is the form and the duration: Dried aerial parts as an infusion, liquid extract or dry-extract tablets, usually in combination products. Short-term use over days to a couple of weeks.
What are the side effects of passionflower?
Drowsiness and dizziness are the common ones. Rare hypersensitivity reactions have been reported.
Does passionflower interact with medicines?
Yes — documented for Sedatives, Alcohol, Surgery. Each one is described on this page, with a link to the medicine-side reference where one exists.
Others in sleep, stress and calm
Valerian
Relief of mild nervous tension and to aid sleep.
Chamomile
Mild digestive complaints including bloating and flatulence; as a mouth rinse for minor inflammation of the mouth and throat; on the skin for minor irritation; as a steam inhalation for a cold.
Lavender
Relief of mild symptoms of mental stress and exhaustion, and to aid sleep; the oil is also registered as a bath additive.
Lemon balm
Relief of mild symptoms of mental stress and to aid sleep; and, separately, mild digestive complaints including bloating and flatulence.
Keep the whole list in one place
TempoLife logs supplements alongside food, sleep and how you actually felt — so the answer to "what are you taking?" is a screen, not a guess.