Passion Flower ~ Passiflora Incarnata [ Disemma (Labill.) ]

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Passion Flower ~ Passiflora Incarnata [ Disemma (Labill.) ]
« on: September 27, 2008, 04:39:06 PM » by Beth

I have a lot of passionflower growing in my back field. How do I harvest this? I assume you use the leaves and dry them. How? What is it good for? And when do you harvest? Does the fruit have any medicinal value? How would I go about juicing this if I wanted to? Sorry for all the questions there is just ALOT out there. It has such a pretty and unusual bloom. I really like it. I know it has some sedative qualities as well as some hormonal. Just looking for info on this interesting plant.

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"discontenment is not a product of circumstances; it is the state of the soul." - Debi Pearl in Created to be his help meet ...and be content with such things as ye have Hebrews 13:5 KJV

Re: Passion Flower ~ Passiflora Incarnata [ Disemma (Labill.) ]
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2008, 07:18:45 PM » by Mrs. B

You can harvest all above ground parts for use after the fruits have matured/ripened.
I usually prefer the leaves and the fruits, and not the flowers. This is just my personal preference though. I usually dry them before using. The fruits will take longer to dry. I usually leave them whole, and after they are dried I store them.
I usually use these in my nighttime teas very sparingly as they have a strong effect on me as sedative. To do this I take the dried fruits and cut them into smallish pieces with a sharp knife. I also add some of the dried leaves too.

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Re: Passion Flower ~ Passiflora Incarnata [ Disemma (Labill.) ]
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2008, 07:41:59 PM » by mauimom

Enlighten me please! Over here we have the passionfruit which is a vine. Is this the same thing as the passionflower? Just the blooms of the passionfruit?
mauimom

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Re: Passion Flower ~ Passiflora Incarnata [ Disemma (Labill.) ]
« Reply #3 on: September 27, 2008, 08:03:48 PM » by Mrs. B

Quote from: mauimom on September 27, 2008, 07:41:59 PM

Enlighten me please! Over here we have the passionfruit which is a vine. Is this the same thing as the passionflower? Just the blooms of the passionfruit?
mauimom

Sorry, but I don't believe this is the same thing, but appear to be in the same family to some degree.
What I am talking about is Passiflora incarnata. Passion fruit come from Passiflora edulis.
This is a picture of a passion flower in bloom

This site also has pictures of the plant and the ripe fruit..They look like green pods initially and turn orangish when ripe. They are about 1inch by 2 inches long. http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/blue_passion_flower.htm
I didn't do a huge search, but I don't believe the plant of the traditional passion fruit have the same sedative/herbal values as passion flower has.

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Re: Passion Flower ~ Passiflora Incarnata [ Disemma (Labill.) ]
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2008, 10:40:37 PM » by hi_itsgwen

These pages have some good info as well.

http://www.altnature.com/gallery/passionflower.htm

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/HerbsWho/0,3923,4101%7CPassion%2BFlower,00.html

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Re: Passion Flower ~ Passiflora Incarnata [ Disemma (Labill.) ]
« Reply #5 on: September 28, 2008, 09:15:34 AM » by Beth

good information thank you.
Mrs.B you said you dried the fruits whole. How did you do that? A dehydrator? What about the leaves how did you dry them? Putting pieces of the dried fruit in your tea sounds really good. Passionflower fruit is often used in exotic drinks because it has somewhat of a "tropical" flavor. Do you know if it also has the same medicinal qualities as the leaves?
I read somewhere about its hormonal qualities. Something about its ability to keep excess estrogen from being absorbed into the system. In both men and women. Anyone know anything more about that? I think it may have been in either "prescription for herbal healing" by Phyllis A. Balch....yep, I just looked and it is the chemical Chrysin in it that does this. It keeps the body from breaking down testosterone. So it would be good for men with excess estrogen. "It blocks some of the receptors on cells that cause them respond to estrogen, blunting the effects of excess estrogen." quote from above mentioned book. Thoughts?

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"discontenment is not a product of circumstances; it is the state of the soul." - Debi Pearl in Created to be his help meet ...and be content with such things as ye have Hebrews 13:5 KJV

Re: Passion Flower ~ Passiflora Incarnata [ Disemma (Labill.) ]
« Reply #6 on: September 28, 2008, 02:07:37 PM » by Mrs. B

Quote from: Beth on September 28, 2008, 09:15:34 AM

good information thank you.
Mrs.B you said you dried the fruits whole. How did you do that? A dehydrator? What about the leaves how did you dry them?
Do you know if it also has the same medicinal qualities as the leaves?

I have just purchased my first dehydrator and it's on it's way, so I haven't used one yet to dry any herbs.
What I do is really low tech.... I take window screens and lay them out on the corner of my porch. I sandwich the herbs between 2 of them. I then let them dry out of the direct sun for a few days or until they look 'done'. The leaves will dry alot quicker than the fruits.

This is a link to where I have shown how I dry herbs....
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/seethebluesky/529955/

The fruits and leaves should hold the same properties, or at least I've not heard of there being any differences.
One source I just found recommends that the fruit should be separated, sliced and then dried with the aid of heat.
It's usually hot enough where I live that this isn't a problem, and I don't believe that I have ever sliced mine prior to drying, either. It would make it go much quicker though.
I've not heard about the hormonal aspects of it, but that doesn't mean much... it is very interesting and worth further research.

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Re: Passion Flower ~ Passiflora Incarnata [ Disemma (Labill.) ]
« Reply #7 on: September 28, 2008, 03:39:26 PM » by Beth

I like your idea about the screens. I think it would better than a dehydrator. Because, depending on the size of screen, you could probably fit more on them. Also, the lower temps would, maybe, be better for herbs.
thank you.
I am also interested in more info on the hormonal qualities. If this herb could help us with excess estrogen it would truly be a very useful herb!

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"discontenment is not a product of circumstances; it is the state of the soul." - Debi Pearl in Created to be his help meet ...and be content with such things as ye have Hebrews 13:5 KJV

Re: Passion Flower ~ Passiflora Incarnata [ Disemma (Labill.) ]
« Reply #8 on: September 28, 2008, 07:33:08 PM » by hi_itsgwen

from www.mountainroseherbs.com
Re: estrogen and hormone effects...some say yes:

Quote

Summary
Herbalists in Mexico, Central America, and Texas have used passionflower as a calmative and sleeping aid for over 200 years. Relieving muscle tension, the herb lowers blood pressure and calms anxiety. Passionflower is also a source of chrysin, a chemical that helps the body release testosterone. Chrysin stimulates the production of testosterone, and may aggravate conditions caused by excessive testosterone (baldness and prostate problems in men, unusual aggression, hair growth, and skin problems in men and women) so this should be evaluated before consuming too much Passionflower.

Passionflower is most appropriate for men who have conditions such as gynecomastia (enlargement of the breasts) caused by excessive estrogen. While chrysin keeps testosterone from being converted into estrogen, it also blocks some of the receptors on cells that cause them to respond to estrogen.
Passionflower is the herbal remedy of choice for treating nausea and vomiting resulting from withdrawal from Vicodin, cocaine, heroin, or opiate painkillers. It may also help in attention deficit disorder and restless legs syndrome. Compounds in passionflower occupy the same receptor sites in the brain as the benzodiazepine drugs Librium (chlordiazepoxide) and Valium (diazepam), but cause less drowsiness. Passionflower may also help withdrawal from alcohol.
Finally, passionflower is help for nerve pain caused by post-herpetic neuralgia, the sometimes intense pain following outbreaks of shingles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysin
and some say no:

Quote

Chrysin was once believed to be an effective aromatase inhibitor, decreasing the levels of estrogen in the body. However, there is growing consensus that chrysin has no effect on estrogen levels in either animals or humans. [5]. Early evidence was reported in the early 1980's through in vitro studies (in the laboratory, as opposed to in the body) [6][7][8] [9][10] [11][12]. Unfortunately, follow-up studies determined that cell membranes effectively block chrysin from entering the cells and having any effect at all on estrogen levels in biological organisms [13][14][15]. In vivo (in the body) studies involving biological organisms lend support to the observation that chrysin has no effect on estrogen levels, but may have other detrimental effects to the body, particularly to thyroid function [16]. For instance, a 30 day study administered chrysin to four groups of mice both orally and via injection to examine chrysin's effect on serum estrogen levels. The results showed that chrysin had no effect on estrogen levels. Further, the mice treated with chrysin became considerably fatter, possibly due to chrysin's ability to disrupt thyroid function.[17]. Another study on rats administered 50 mg of chrysin per kg body weight, considerably more than found in dietary supplements. Chrysin was found to have no ability to inhibit aromatase, possibly due to poor aborption or bioavailablity [18].

« Last Edit: September 28, 2008, 07:47:43 PM by hi_itsgwen »
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