A Pharmacological Review: Passiflora Species

Plants have been the basis of many traditional medicines throughout the world for thousands of years and have continued to provide new remedies to mankind. They are one of the richest sources of bioactive compounds. The genus Passiflora L. comprises about 520 species of dicotyledonous plants in the family Passifloraceae. Passiflora incarnata and P. alata, also commonly known as Passion flower, are two species of a perennial climbing vine with beautiful exotic flowers and delicious fruit that grow worldwide, preferring subtropical, frost-free climates. They are native to the tropical and semi-tropical United States (Virginia to Florida and as far west as Texas), Mexico, Central American, and from Brazil to Paraguay through northern Argentina. It is used extensively for treatment of some diseases like as anxiety, insomnia, convulsion, sexual dysfunction, cough and cancer. Passionflower is currently official in the national pharmacopeias of Egypt, France, Germany and Switzerland, and also mongraphed in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia and the British Herbal Compendium, the ESCOP monographs, the Commission E, the German Standard Licenses, the German Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia, and the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States. The present article including the detailed exploration of pharmacological properties of P. incarnata is an attempt to provide a direction for further research. INTRODUCTION: The genus Passiflora consists of 500 species that are mostly found in warm and tropical regions. Passiflora comes from Latin word “Passio” that was first time discovered by Spanish discoverers in 1529 and was described as a symbol for “Passion of Christ” 1, 2 . The passion flowers or passion vines (Passiflora) have a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants and the largest in the family of Passifloraceae 3, 4 . They are mostly vines, with some being shrubs, and a few species being herbaceous. QUICK RESPONSE CODE DOI: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.IJP.3(1).10-18 Article can be accessed online on: www.ijpjournal.com DOI link: http://dx.doi.org/10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.IJP.3(1).10-18 The species of this genus are distributed in the warm temperate and tropical regions of the world, but they are much rarer in Asia, Australia, and tropical Africa. The medical utility of very few species of Passiflora has been scientifically studied 5 . Passionflower extracts have been classified into several categories of chemical activities like anxiolytic, spasmolytic, hypnotic, sedative, narcotic and anodyne 6 . These extracts are part of a treatment that has successfully treated outpatients with adjustment disorder and anxious mood 7 . Many species have been found to contain beta-carboline harmala alkaloids with anti-depressant properties. The flower and fruit has only traces of these chemicals, but the leaves and the roots are often more potent and have been used to enhance the effects of mind