PPernilla’sHolistic Library
Home›FAQs›Does passionflower help anxiety before surgery?
Passionflower

Does passionflower help anxiety before surgery?

Small trials found a single 500 mg dose lowered pre-procedure anxiety scores without measurable sedation, but the studies are few and small.

Passionflower vine with an open purple-fringed bloom
Pre-procedure trials are small and must be discussed with the anesthesia team.

The short answer

In a 60-patient trial, oral Passiflora incarnata given 90 minutes before ambulatory surgery reduced anxiety scores compared with placebo without impairing psychomotor function, and a second trial found it blunted the rise in anxiety before spinal anesthesia. NCCIH summarizes this as a small amount of research with conclusions that are not definite. Because passionflower can add to sedation, never take it before a procedure without telling the anesthesia team.

Sources

  1. Preoperative oral Passiflora incarnata reduces anxiety in ambulatory surgery patients (Movafegh et al., 2008)Anesthesia & Analgesia / PubMed
  2. Passiflora incarnata Linneaus as an anxiolytic before spinal anesthesia (Aslanargun et al., 2012)Journal of Anesthesia / PubMed
  3. Passionflower: Usefulness and SafetyNCCIH