Anxiety is a preoperative complication, which most patients encounter. The use of a premedication to reduce preoperative anxiety with minimal cognitive impairment is crucial..
This study was conducted to compare the sedative effect of preoperative melatonin and Passiflora incarnata in patients undergoing elective surgery regarding their potential for postoperative cognitive disorders..
In this clinical trial, 52 patients American society of anesthesiologists grade (ASA) I and II of both genders were selected to receive either Passiflora incarnata (1000 mg nature made) (n = 26) or melatonin (6 mg) (n = 26) as premedication one hour before surgery. Post-operative pain was evaluated using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Patient’s anxiety and cognitive dysfunction was evaluated with the Ramsey score and the digital symbol substitution test (DSST), respectively. All tests were carried out and evaluated at arrival in the operating room, before induction and before discharge from the post anesthesia care unit (PACU)..
There were no statistically differences between groups in VAS (P > 0.05). However, the mean score of pain was higher in the melatonin group compared to the Pssiflora incarnata group when discharged from the PACU (27.63 vs. 25.37). The anxiety scores were statistically significant in both drugs (P = 0.001), however higher sedation scores was caused by premedication with melatonin (P = 0.003 vs. 0.008). Regarding the DSST, there was a significant difference between the two groups one hour before the surgery (P = 0.04) and at the time of discharge from the PACU (P = 0.007). When evaluating each group, the Passiflora incarnata group revealed a significant difference (P = 0.003)..
Our findings show that premedication with Passiflora incarnata reduces anxiety as well as Melatonin. However, Melatonin causes less cognitive impairment compared to Passiflora incarnata..

Chronic use of morphine lead to dependence and discontinuation of the drug causes physical and emotional changes which needs pharmacological intervention. In the present study, the preventive effects of various doses of Passiflora incarnata extract on morphine withdrawal syndrome was evaluated in comparison to clonidine as a standard method. Total withdrawal score (TWS) was calculated based on behavioral sign of naloxone precipitated withdrawal syndrome in 56 adult male mice divided in 7 groups; in 6 groups morphine dependency was induced by chronic injection of morphine for 6 consecutive days. Passiflora incarnata hydro alcoholic extract was administered in doses 100, 200, 400, 800 mg/kg. Clonidine and normal saline were used in the control group. Withdrawal syndrome was induced by injection of naloxone. Total withdrawal score was decreased by chronic administration of Passiflora incarnata and clonidine. This study showed that clonidine (0.4mg/kg i.p.) and Passiflora incarnata extract significantly decrease TWS in the all used doses and in comparison to normal saline with a preventive effect comparable to clonidine. The data obtained in this study suggest Passiflora incarnata hydro-alcoholic extract therapeutic potential in prevention and management of opiate withdrawal syndrome which is comparable to the effect of clonidine, particularly at high doses of the plant extract

Previous studies have shown analgesic, muscular relaxant, sedative and hypnotic properties of Passiflora incarnata. Hence, in the present study anesthesia with co-administration of Passiflora incarnata-ketamine with diazepam-ketamine was compared.
In this experimental study, 32 male rats were randomly divided into 3 groups, Passiflora incarnata (PA) (1000mg/kg, i.p.), Passiflora incarnata-ketamine (PIK) (1000mg/kg and 50mg/kg, i.p. respectively) and diazepam-ketamine (DK) (2.5 and 50 mg/kg, i.p. respectively) (n=8). In this research, anesthetic parameters were measured during 0 to 55 minutes.
PI group could not induce surgical anesthesia (SA). Nevertheless, PIK group, compared to DK group, immediately induced anesthesia (p>0.05). Results showed that PI group, compared to other groups, increased the heart rate (p0.05). PI group became weaker than PIK and DK groups in inhibiting lip, tail and pedal pinches (p Induction time, SA and recovery times of PIK group were similar to those of DK group. Although the extract alone could not induce anesthesia, its effects were comparable with diazepam and it could be used as an alternative for a pre-anesthetic agent instead of diazepam.

The incidence of coughing following extubation can result in a number of undesirable side effects. Therefore, the development of antitussive premedication may be desirable.
In this study, 138 patients were randomized into two groups to receive either oral Passiflora incarnata (500 mg, PassipyTM IranDarouk) (n = 69) or placebo (n = 69) as premedication, 120 min before surgery. After extubation, all patients were observed to record the incidence of coughing during a 15 minute period. Hemodynamic variables were recorded before induction of anesthesia, 1 minute following intubation, and 5 minutes after extubation.
The demographic characteristics of patients, ASA physical status, duration of surgery, hemodynamic variables were similar in the two groups. The incidence of cough following extubation was significantly lower in the passiflora group compared to the control group (P In outpatient surgery, administration of oral Passiflora incarnata as a premedication reduces incidence of coughing following extubation.

Herbal medicines include a range of pharmacologically active compounds: in some cases it is not well understood which ingredients are important for a therapeutic effect. The supporters of herbal medicine believe that isolated ingredients in the majority of cases have weaker clinical effects than whole plant extract, a claim that would obviously require proof in each case. Generalizations about the efficacy of herbal medicines are clearly not possible. Each one needs systematic research including a variety of animal studies and also randomized clinical trials. In this review we focus on Passiflora incarnata and Salvia officinalis.

Over the years, medicinal plants have been considered promising treatments for managing various disorders. Numerous natural products contain prospective potential for the treatment of insomnia. This study aimed to determine the quantities of melatonin and GABA present in five plant extracts with hypnotic effects. Five plants were selected for investigation, including Valeriana officinalis, Passiflora incarnata, Aloysia citriodora, Withania somnifera, and Lavandula officinalis. The ethanolic extracts of these plants were prepared using the maceration method. For preliminary phytochemical evaluations, HPTLC fingerprinting was conducted on both the extracts and the standards, including melatonin and GABA. GABA content was determined using HPTLC in three out of the five plants. Furthermore, the HPLC method was used to confirm the presence of melatonin. The results of HPTLC fingerprinting revealed that the ethanolic extracts of Aloysia citriodora, Passiflora incarnata, and Withania somnifera contained GABA, which could be attributed to their reported hypnotic effects. Conversely, none of the five plants contained melatonin, indicating that the hypnotic effect was not related to this compound. In conclusion, this study described the HPTLC method for detecting and quantifying GABA in Withania somnifera and Aloysia citriodora for the first time. Notably, Withania somnifera exhibited the highest amount of GABA.

Zolpidem and Passiflora incarnata can do calming and sleep-inducing effects by affecting GABA, which is one of the known brain neurotransmitters. There are evidences that GABA receptors exist in the body's endocrine glands, including the ovary.

120 pieces of Trichogaster trichopterus with an average weight of 2.76 ± 0.49 g were purchased. The fishes were divided into 8 treatments, each treatment containing 15 fishes, the control groups were: Intact and solvent, three treatment groups which received zolpidem with a dose of 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg and three treatment groups receiving Passiflora incarnata extract with doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg . Intramuscular injection was done every other day to reduce stress on the fish for twenty days. Then the fishes were dissected and the ovarian tissue was separated for examination with light and electron microscope and steroid hormones were measured.

The results showed that 17-beta-estradiol hormone increased in all doses of zolpidem and decreased in all doses of Passiflora incarnata extract compared to the control groups (p≤0.05).In all three doses of zolpidem, the oocytes were mostly in the vitellogenic phase compared to the control group.

while in the treated fish in all three doses of Passiflora incarnata, they were mostly in the prenuclear phase.

Passiflora incarnata (PI) is one of the commonest herbal anti-anxiety and sedative agents. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antidepressant effect of hydroalcoholic extract of PI in forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) in male mice. In this experimental study, 48 male mice were randomly divided into 6 groups of 8: Negative and positive control groups received normal saline (10 ml/kg), fluoxetine (20 mg/kg) and imipramine (30 mg/kg), respectively and treatment groups received extracts of PI (200, 400 and 800 mg/kg). Immobility, swimming and climbing behaviors were recorded during 6-min. All doses of PI extract compared to control group significantly reduced the duration of immobility time in both of two tests (p<0.001). Also, these extracts increased swimming time (p<0.001) without significant change of climbing time. PI has considerable antidepressant-like effect in animal models of depression. However, further studies are needed to determine its exact mechanism of action.

Passiflora has several species that two of them named P. incarnata and P. caerulea are cultivated in Iran. Many investigations have been carried out on therapeutic effects of the genus but only P. incarnata is approved for use in pharmaceutical dosage forms for anxiety and insomnia. The purpose of this study is differential determination of P. incarnata and P. caerulea in medicinal plants and related herbal drugs. In this investigation, microscopic properties, total ash, acid-insoluble ash and total flavonoids calculated as hyperoside of P. incarnata and P. caerulea were determined. In addition, TLC chromatogram regarding flavonoids and HPLC chromatograms of P. incarnata and P. caerulea ethanol extract, Passipay tablet and drop (Iran Darouk Co.), Passiflora drop and dry extract (Vogel Co.) and Passiflora drop (Curarina Co.) were also compared. No significant difference between total ash, acid-insoluble ash and total flavonoids in two species were found. But they were very different in microscopic properties. TLC and HPLC chromatograms are very different as well. The aerial parts of the two plant species can be well distinguished by microscopic method. The plant extract either itself or in pharmaceutical dosage forms, can be determined by HPLC or TLC methods. Since sample preparation is very simple and doesn’t require complex procedures, the above-mentioned methods seem to be efficient.

Worldwide, the use of benzodiazepines as hypnotics and sedatives is on the rise. Alprazolam and passion flower (Passiflora incarnata L.) produce calming and sleep-inducing by affecting GABA, which is one of the known neurotransmitters of the brain. There are findings indicating that GABA has been found in the body's endocrine glands, including the ovary. In this research, due to the similarity of the endocrine reproductive control system of fish to humans and having the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis the comparison of the effects of the gabanergic drug alprazolam and the passion flower on the ovarian tissue of three-spotted gourami fish was chosen as the target.

In the present basic-experimental study carried out in 2022, 120 pieces of Trichogaster trichopterus with an average weight of 3 ± 0.5g were purchased from ornamental fish farm in Hamedan, Iran. The pieces were divided into eight groups of 15, which included the intact control group, the solvent control group, three treatment groups which received Alprazolam with a dose of 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/kg and three treatment groups receiving Passiflora incarnata extract with doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg. A dose of 0.02 ml of the drug was injected intramuscularly between the dorsal fin and the lateral line every other day for 10 times, over a period of 20 days. Finally, the fish were euthanized and dissected. The ovaries of the fish were isolated and examined with optical and electron microscope, and ELIZA kit was used to measure steroid hormones from tissue fluids. The data were analyzed using SPSS22 software and statistical methods of one-way ANOVA and Duncan at the level of p≤0.05.

According to the obtained results, alprazolam up to a maximum concentration of 100 mg/kg had stimulating effects on the maturation of the ovaries of Trichogaster trichopterus and caused an increase in steroid hormones in them. On the other hand, evening primrose extract has an inhibitory effect on ovarian development in doses of 25-100 mg/kg.

According to the results, alprazolam was probably a stimulant of gonadal development, while extract of Passiflora incarnata inhibited it.