Passionflower for Mood Stabilization
Anxiolytic signal exists but mood-specific evidence is thin.
Overview
Verdict
How It Works
Dosing & Protocol
Typical dose
- Recommended dose
- Studied at 300-800 mg/day standardised extract for anxiety; mood stabilisation specifically has not been tested
- Expected timeframe
- Not established
Protocol
- form
- Passiflora incarnata extract or tincture in the trials that exist
- duration
- Anxiety trials ran 2-4 weeks
- co factor
- Evidence is insufficient. No trial has examined passionflower for mood stabilisation, bipolar disorder or mood cycling, and the term does not correspond to an outcome any passionflower study has measured. What exists is a small body of work on generalised anxiety disorder - including a four-week trial comparing passionflower tincture with oxazepam that found comparable anxiolytic effect with less job-performance impairment - and trials of preoperative anxiety showing reduced anxiety scores. These are acute anxiolytic findings in anxiety states, not evidence about mood regulation over time. The proposed GABAergic mechanism would predict sedation and anxiolysis rather than mood stabilisation.
- titration
- Not applicable - no dose has been studied for mood stabilisation
- starting dose
- Not established for this outcome. Anxiety trials used roughly 45 drops/day of tincture or 300-800 mg/day of extract
Evidence
What the studies say
No studies are yet linked to both Passionflower and Mood Stabilization.
Safety
Caveats
Mood instability needs proper diagnosis rather than a sedative herb. If mood swings involve periods of elevated mood, reduced need for sleep, racing thoughts, overspending or risk-taking alternating with depression, this may be bipolar disorder, which requires specialist assessment and treatment with mood stabilisers such as lithium, valproate, lamotrigine or quetiapine - none of which a supplement substitutes for. Rapid mood shifts within a day are more characteristic of emotionally unstable personality disorder, ADHD or premenstrual dysphoric disorder, each with distinct treatments. Never stop prescribed psychiatric medication to try a herb, and seek urgent help for suicidal thoughts, psychosis or emerging mania. Safety of passionflower: it is sedating, so avoid combining with alcohol, benzodiazepines, Z-drugs, opioids, sedating antihistamines or other sedative herbs - additive central nervous system depression is the main hazard - and do not drive until you know how it affects you. Case reports include altered consciousness, QT prolongation and vasculitis at high doses. Avoid in pregnancy, since some Passiflora species may stimulate uterine contractions, and while breastfeeding. Stop two weeks before surgery. Caution with anticoagulants and antihypertensives.
Less likely to help if
Medical Disclaimer
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Individual results may vary. The statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products and information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.