Is Passion Flower the key to treat anxiety naturally?

Many people understand the soothing effects that Passion Flower can have. However there are many things that the average person does not know about Passion Flower. For instance Passion Flower is not actually a specific flower, but instead is a genus (technically called Passiflora) that include over 500 flowering plants in the Passifloraceae family. These different plants are mostly vines, shrubs, and some herbs . One of the distinguishing features of a Passion Flower plant is that they bear a small fruit called a Grandilla.

Multiple parts of the plants are used for medicinal purposes. These include the colorful flowers and the aerial parts of the plant. These parts of the plant, when used properly, can promote emotional well being through a calming of the central nervous system.

Passion Flower is native to North America, most common in tropical and sub tropical climates. The plant is very prevalent in North America, and Central America. Because of the ubiquity of the plant, and the known soothing properties it's use has been very wide spread among Native Americans for centuries. The plant has been used for many purposes, including the relief of anxiety, insomnia, hysteria, epilepsy, and pain. The wide spread uses made the Passion Flower plants among the most useful for Native Americans. Eventually the use of the plant spread to European nations, and is now very common among holistic healers.

Even though there have been multiple clinical studies done that support the use of Passion Flower as an effective alternative to prescription medicine it is still unclear to researchers the exact mechanisms of how Passion Flower works. The generally accepted theory is that the Flavonoids in Passion Flower increases the plant's effectiveness as an anxiolytic. The specific compound responsible is Vitexin; varying concentrations are available, but it is best to only Passion Flower that contains at least 3% Vitexin. This in turns aids in relieving stress, anxiety and panic attacks.

Passion Flower has been shown to be effective when 100-200mg are consumed per day for adults, and 75-150mg are consumed per day for children. It is not recommended that you consumer Passion Flower if you are pregnant, or if you are currently breast feeding. Larger amounts have not been shown to cause any serious adverse side effects, but as always, a physician should be consulted if you experience any side effects or you are concerned with any possible interactions or potential side effects. Many times the reported side effects from Passion Flower come from impurities in the product, or from other ingredients included with the Passion Flower.

Passion Flower has repeatedly proved to be an effective natural defense against anxiety on it's own, however the effectiveness can be multiplied when combined with other natural remedies such as Valerian Root, 5-HTP, and Gaba. Together these natural herbs and plants can provide an even greater defense than any one of them can on their own.