PASSIFLORA, PASSION FLOWER

Passiflora incarnata (Passifloraceae) HISTORY AND USES Passiflora is natural from the north America. Its name comes from its beautiful flowers, thought to represent Christ's crucifixion - 5 stamens for the 5 wounds, 3 styles for the 3 nails and white and purple-blue colors for purity and heaven. The herb has valuable sedative and tranquilizing properties and has a long use as a medicine in Central and North American herbal traditions, being taken in Mexico for insomnia epilepsy and hysteria. The leaves are an ingredient in many pharmaceutical products to treat nervous disorders such as heart palpitations, anxiety, convulsions and sometimes high blood pressure. It is also used to prevent spasms from whooping cough, asthma and other diseases. MAIN PROPERTIES: Anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, hypotensive sedative, tranquilizing.