Passionflower Peace

This colourful flower (go ahead and google more images because they’re pretty cool) can pack a powerful punch! This purple-white flower has a corona (crown) that creates a frilly appearance, adding to its beauty. But this flower is not just another pretty face!

Although it is in the same family as the passionfruit (yum!), it is the flower itself and not the fruit that make this flower famous. Passionflower or passion vine has been used traditionally by indigenous peoples around the world as a sedative and painkiller. The traditional uses have made their way into modern medicine, where they have been studied for their anti-anxiety and sleep aid properties.

As a herbal remedy, how does passionflower work? (maybe you didn’t need to know but I’m going tell you anyway)

Passionflower, like other herbals, contains many different constituents that may act as the active player. Studies have shown that one or multiple of these constituents bind to GABA receptors in your brain. For those who need a refresher, GABA serves as a inhibitory signal in the brain; a signal to slow things down. So when passionflower attaches to the GABA receptors in your brain, it can help to slow down the rate at which GABA is taken back into neural cells. This means that there is more GABA chilling in your brain without increasing the amount of GABA that your brain releases. What does that mean? It means that your brain is getting more signals that are telling it to slow down then signals that are telling it to speed up. The overall effect is a slow down, a calm, and a reduction in swirling thoughts that can cause clutter.

So this amazing flower can help to slow down the mind so its not racing in the indy 500 when all you need is the city limit of 50 kph. That is how research has proposed the traditional benefits of sedation/ anit-anxiety and herbal sleep aid of passionflower work. Pretty neat hunh?

Here’s hoping you learned something neat about this flower and if you want to learn more check out the link in my bio. For those of you with access to Pubmed and other informational data bases, you’ll find some research there too! Do your own research and learning, but as always this is not medical advice and you should always seek professional counsel before starting a herbal supplement.

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