Passionflower for Anxiety
A handful of small trials hint that passionflower may ease anxiety, but the evidence is too limited and short-term to confirm it works, and it carries real sedative drug-interaction risks. It should not replace proven treatments.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
The grade is Weak (C) because the human evidence is small and sparse rather than negative. A Cochrane systematic review (PMID 17253512), pooling just two RCTs in 198 people, concluded the data were too limited to draw firm conclusions, even though one trial suggested an effect comparable to benzodiazepines. The pilot generalized-anxiety RCT it drew on (PMID 11679026, n=36) found passionflower no different from oxazepam over four weeks, but with only 36 patients this cannot establish efficacy on its own.
Two short preoperative trials add directional support: passionflower lowered situational anxiety versus placebo before surgery (PMID 18499602, n=60) and performed similarly to midazolam before dental extraction (PMID 27918731, n=40). These are single-dose, non-inferiority designs in narrow settings, so they say little about treating an ongoing anxiety disorder, and funding was undisclosed for both.
Authorities echo the caution. The US FDA lists passionflower only as a flavoring food substance with no disease claim, the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements calls the evidence limited and inconsistent, and Europe's EMA recognizes only a traditional use for mild stress. Passionflower can also add to the sedation of benzodiazepines, alcohol, and anesthesia, so it is best avoided around surgery and in pregnancy, and should not replace first-line care such as therapy or SSRIs.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.594
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 高品質 SR/MA 顯示 positive (1 篇 > 0 negative)
- tier_strict_requirement_check — | B→C 因 scope.conflation_risk=true 且 L11 獨評較低 (B7-2 tier cap)
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 0 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status