Herb ·Moderate evidence ·Reviewed May 2026
Gentle calming herb for anxiety and sleep with fewer side effects than valerian.
The bottom line
Evidence rating moderate. Most-documented uses: anxiety relief, sleep support, calm without sedation. 19 sources indexed (1990–2026), with 7 interaction records on file.
Core mechanism
Chrysin and other flavonoids bind GABA-A benzodiazepine receptors. Also inhibits MAO and modulates GABA reuptake.11,16
Can take during the day for anxiety or before bed for sleep16
Dosing protocol
Avoid combining with benzodiazepines or alcohol. Useful for situational anxiety.16
Ranked by evidence and value.
Real-world pricing across three quality tiers. Assumes Standardized Passionflower Extract.
Assumes 200-400 mg/day. Vendor basis: NOW/iHerb, Vitacost, Life Extension, and Amazon marketplace; liquid and organic herb formats cost more. Updated 2026-05-28.
How much you'd eat to match a supplemental dose.
Passionfruit is not equivalent to standardized passionflower aerial-part extract.
What to test, the optimal window inside the conventional range, and how long a response takes.
Passiflora incarnata (250 to 500 mg per day) reduces STAI scores modestly in small RCTs of mild anxiety and pre-operative anxiety.2,1
No reliable blood biomarker. STAI or GAD-7 score are the standard endpoints. Avoid combining with benzodiazepines or alcohol.
Where this appears in the symptom-to-supplement map, ranked by relevance.
Passiflora is thought to enhance GABAergic tone, and a small number of short trials report modest short-term reductions in anxiety.1,2
Can be sedating; do not combine with alcohol or sedative medications without clinician input.
Passionflower may raise GABA tone and reduce anxiety-driven arousal, which could help with the restlessness that fragments sleep.3,5
Best suited to anxious wakefulness; can add to daytime drowsiness, so avoid before driving.
Evidence-based stacks that include it, with the exact dose and timing each one uses.
Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is thought to enhance GABA-A receptor activity, and small trials suggest a mild anxiety-reducing effect. Evidence is limited, so it is an optional adjunct rather than a core agent.4,5
Both herbs are sedative and GABAergic, so combining them produces additive drowsiness and CNS depression, an effect used in some combination sleep products but a concern with driving or other sedatives.
Recommendation: If combined, start low, avoid driving or operating machinery, and do not add other sedatives or alcohol. Discuss with a clinician if taking prescription CNS depressants.
Passionflower adds GABAergic sedation on top of melatonin's sleep-promoting effect, increasing overall drowsiness and next-morning grogginess in some users.
Recommendation: Take near bedtime only, start with low doses, and avoid driving after dosing. Avoid stacking with other sedatives or alcohol.
Both target GABAergic tone, so combining supplemental GABA with passionflower can produce additive calming and sedative effects.
Recommendation: Use modest doses, avoid combining before driving, and do not stack with prescription sedatives or alcohol.
Both calm the nervous system mainly through GABA pathways, so combining them can produce additive anxiety-reducing and sleep-supporting effects.
Recommendation: May be combined for daytime calm or sleep support. Start with standard single doses of each and watch for additive drowsiness, especially if also using sedatives.
Passionflower has measurable anxiolytic and GABA-related CNS activity. Alprazolam is a benzodiazepine sedative, so the combination may cause more drowsiness, impaired coordination, slowed reaction time, or unsafe driving. Risk is higher with alcohol, opioids, sleep medicines, older age, sleep apnea, or dose escalation.
Recommendation: Avoid combining passionflower with alprazolam unless your prescriber agrees. If used, start with the lowest possible supplement dose, avoid alcohol and other sedatives, and do not drive until you know the combined effect. Seek urgent help for extreme sleepiness, confusion, falls, or slowed breathing.
Passionflower can have calming CNS effects and GABA-related activity. Clonazepam is a long-acting benzodiazepine, so additive sedation may last longer than expected and may carry into the next day. This is more concerning in older adults, people with sleep apnea, and anyone also using alcohol, opioids, antihistamines, or sleep medicines.
Recommendation: Do not add passionflower to clonazepam without prescriber guidance. If the combination is approved, avoid driving or hazardous work until you know the effect and stop the supplement if excessive sleepiness, confusion, unsteady gait, or falls occur. Seek urgent care for severe sedation or breathing problems.
Passionflower has anxiolytic and GABA-related activity that may stack with lorazepam's benzodiazepine effect. The result can be more sedation, slowed thinking, poor coordination, or falls. Risk rises with alcohol, opioids, sleep medicines, respiratory disease, older age, or taking lorazepam more often than prescribed.
Recommendation: Avoid passionflower with lorazepam unless your prescriber has reviewed the combination. If used, avoid alcohol and other sedatives, use caution with driving, and stop passionflower if you feel unusually sleepy, confused, or unsteady. Get urgent help for severe sedation or slowed breathing.
Numbered references. Citations throughout the page link here.
Triple-blind RCT of 54 patients found both Passiflora incarnata and Valeriana officinalis significantly reduced state anxiety scores compared to placebo during third molar extraction.
Christoffoli MT, Bachesk AB, Farah GJ et al.. Assessment of Passiflora incarnata L for conscious sedation of patients during the extraction of mandibular third molars: a randomized, split-mouth, double-blind, crossover study. Quintessence international (Berlin, Germany : 1985). 2021
Total sleep time was significantly increased in the passionflower group compared to placebo in a double-blind RCT with 110 participants.
Double-blind crossover RCT of 40 volunteers found Passiflora incarnata showed anxiolytic effect similar to midazolam for conscious sedation during dental extraction, without the amnesia side effect of midazolam.
Movafegh A, Alizadeh R, Hajimohamadi F et al.. Preoperative oral Passiflora incarnata reduces anxiety in ambulatory surgery patients: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Anesthesia and analgesia. 2008
Passiflora extract and oxazepam were equally effective in treating GAD; passionflower showed significantly lower job performance impairment than the benzodiazepine.
Chrysin (5,7-dihydroxyflavone) displaces benzodiazepine receptor binding and produces anxiolytic effects without sedation, suggesting partial agonist activity at GABA-A BDZ sites.
Carminati M, Tondello M, Zappia M et al.. Synergistic Effect of Passiflora incarnata L., Herba and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the Management of Benzodiazepine Misuse. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland). 2026
Brouns A, Lechtenberg M, Hensel A. Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata): Quality of Food Supplements Versus Registered Herbal Medicinal Products. Planta medica. 2025
Majority of clinical trials (9 total) found reduced anxiety levels following Passiflora incarnata; no adverse effects including memory loss or psychometric function collapse observed.
Clinical trials support passionflower for anxiety and sleep; overall safe with no reported hepatotoxicity; limited but growing evidence base.
Whole passionflower extract induced dose-dependent direct GABA-A currents in hippocampal slices; GABA itself is a prominent ingredient of the extract.
Fisher AA, Purcell P, Le Couteur DG. Toxicity of Passiflora incarnata L. Journal of toxicology. Clinical toxicology. 2000
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