The active compounds in Passionflower have effects on the central nervous system, helping to calm, alleviate nervousness, anxiety, and insomnia. Traditionally, this plant is used in Vietnam as a sedative.
Passionflower is a medicinal herb used in both traditional and modern medicine; it grows wild in many places, commonly found in abandoned fields and along hedgerows. The plant has several names including Passionfruit, Lantern Flower, Hồng Tiên, Mắc Mát, and Long Châu Quả. Its scientific name is Passiflora foetida L, belonging to the Passifloraceae family.
Traditionally, the stems and leaves are brewed as a tea to treat insomnia. According to the book “Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine”, Passionflower fruit (Long Châu Quả) is sweet and neutral in nature, with effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, and promoting diuresis, used to treat coughs due to lung heat, edema, and for poulticing abscesses and ulcers on the legs.
According to the book “Traditional Medicine and Clinical Applications” by Professor Hoàng Bảo Châu, the dried stems, leaves, and flowers of Passionflower have sedative properties, help clear heat, and cool the liver; they are used to treat headaches and insomnia, often in combination with other medicinal herbs. Some sources indicate that Passionflower fruit can be brewed into a drink to treat dysentery; Passionflower leaves can be boiled to create a bath or wash for treating dermatitis, pustules, and itchy skin.
Passionflower is included in the French Pharmacopoeia and is used in many countries in Europe and America. Studies have shown it has effects on the central nervous system: calming, sedative, alleviating nervousness, anxiety, and insomnia. It also directly affects smooth muscles, causing relaxation and relieving spasms, thus treating pain caused by gastrointestinal and uterine spasms.
In traditional medicine, Passionflower is processed into various forms, including liquid extracts, tablets, and teas.
Pharmacist Phạm Tiếp, Health & Life