What is Passionflower?
Various species of the passionflower plant can be found all over the world, but the passionflower species that is generally used in medicinal and herbal formulas is found naturally growing in the southern United States. It is a very aggressive perennial vine that is known to grow to heights of over thirty feet tall. It will grow so fast as to consume a fence or even other plants that get in its way. It will also shoot out runners across the ground to begin growing rapidly in other areas. The flowers have five white petals and five sepals that can vary in color. The most common colors seem to be blues and purples. It is often thought that the "passion" in passionflower refers to its use as an herbal sexual tonic, but that is not the case. The "passion" in the name actually is a reference to the passion of the Christ, because the flowers of the vine where thought to look spiky like Christ's crown of thorns.
Passionflower is abundant in chemicals called alkaloids which are effective in blocking monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that is linked to depression. Monoamine oxide inhibitors (MAOI,s) are the most common types of prescription ant-anxiety and anti-depression medicines. Passionflower increases the activity of many beneficial neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin which are known to have strong anti-depressant actions. The bulk of the pharmaceutical anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications on the market today work on these very chemical principals. A recent study on passionflower showed it to be as effective as many prescription medicines for treating many anxiety disorders and some types of depression.
Passionflower was widely used medicinally by Native Americans to treat anxiety, hysteria, seizures, and insomnia. It is still being used today to treat anxiety, insomnia, and other related conditions. Most scientific experts believe that passionflowers main action is that it increases the levels of a well known brain chemical called GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). GABA is known to lower the activity of specific neurotransmitters that affect nerve centers in the brain. This lowering of neurotransmitter activity causes a general relaxing effect on the body and brain. Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers in the brain that carry messages between brain cells. Because passionflower decreases the activity of these nerve cells in the brain it can be also very helpful in treating insomnia.
Passionflower can be an excellent individual herb to use for these types of conditions described, but many people prefer using passionflower when it is one of the ingredients in combination natural formulas. Passionflower is often combined into formulas with other natural sleeping aids such as melatonin, valerian, lemon balm, and l-theanine to create very effective insomnia and stress relieving aids. The passionflower component of these types of formulas really helps to turn off that over-active and nervous mind that will not shut down sometimes. Synergistic blended natural sleeping aids are often the best alternative to pharmaceutical sleep aids to help with insomnia. Pharmaceutical sleep aids and anti-anxiety medications often come with many side effects that are not present with natural formulas.
About the Author
David Oromaner is a nutritional supplement specialist. He owns Guaranteed Supplement Designs that develops and distributes cutting edge natural products such as the natural sleep aid GuaranteedToSleep. It is considered to be the best alternative to traditional sleeping aids
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