As an anxiolytic, Passiflora incarnata works just as well as oxazepam

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

17.02.2024

As an anxiolytic, Passiflora incarnata works just as well as oxazepam

If patients suffer from serious, but not extreme, anxiety, they respond equally well to supplementation with Passiflora incarnata as to oxazepam. This is evident from a small clinical trial that was published in 2001.

As an anxiolytic, Passiflora incarnata works just as well as oxazepam

Study

Psychiatrists at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran divided 36 patients with anxiety complaints into 2 groups.

One group took a tablet with 30 milligrams of oxazepam plus 45 drops without active substances every day for 4 weeks. Oxazepam is a benzodiazepine with a sedative and anti-anxiety effect.

The other group took a tablet without active ingredients and 45 drops with an extract of Passiflora incarnata every day. The researchers used a supplement from Iran Darouk that is marketed as Pasipay.

There was no placebo group that did not receive any active substance.

Results
Every 5 days, the researchers had the subjects complete a questionnaire with which they could rate their anxiety. Based on this, the researchers from both groups calculated the Hamilton Anxiety Score. During the experiment, this score decreased almost equally among oxazepam and passiflora users.

As an anxiolytic, Passiflora incarnata works just as well as oxazepam

The researchers kept track of which side effects occurred. In the table below - click on it for a larger version - you can see that users of oxazepam reported more side effects that prevented them from performing well at work than users of Passiflora incarnata.

Conclusion
"We conclude that Passiflora extract is potentially a significant improvement over benzodiazepines in the management of generalized anxiety, particularly when drug-induced impairment of job performance is to be avoided", write the researchers.

"A large-scale trial is justified."

As far as we know, this large-scale trial never happened.

Source:
J Clin Pharm Ther. 2001 Oct;26(5):363-7.

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Extract of Passiflora incarnata works just as well against ADHD as Ritalin 17.03.2010

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