Passion fruit tea contains many of the chemicals found in the passionflower plant. The aboveground parts of the passionflower are used as a medication, infusion, tincture, food additive and as a tea. Passionflower tea is often used to treat pain, anxiety and insomnia. Passion fruit tea is also purported to lower blood pressure in certain cases. Talk to your doctor before using passion fruit tea for any medical purpose.
Direct Effect on Blood Pressure
Passion fruit tea contains a chemical called harmane. Harmane is an alkaloid that is effective in lowering blood pressure, HighBloodPressureInfo.org notes. Harmane causes a relaxation of smooth muscle, particularly in your arteries. This muscle relaxation helps expand the arteries, which causes a decrease in blood pressure. However, the effect is not permanent, and other medications will be needed to treat a severe case of hypertension.
Anxiety and Blood Pressure
Anxiety does not directly cause chronic high blood pressure, or hypertension. However, anxiety often causes sudden but transient spikes in blood pressure, MayoClinic.com warns. If these spikes occur frequently, then damage occurs within your blood vessels, kidney and heart. When this damage occurs, you will develop hypertension. Passion fruit tea has shown the ability to reduce the symptoms of anxiety, according to MedlinePlus, a service of the National Institutes of Health. In some cases, extract from passionflower are just as effective as some prescription medications.
Insomnia
Insomnia is characterized by an long-term inability to sleep. Insomniacs either do not sleep at all or only sleep for short periods. Insomnia is linked to heart disease and an increased risk of death due to heart failure. A study published in the June 2009 issue of "Sleep" reports that if you are suffering from insomnia, you are at a high risk of developing a high systolic blood pressure during the evening and abnormal blood pressure readings during the day.
Passion tea is often used as a mild sedative that induces sleep, Phytochemicals.info says. This sedative effect allows insomniacs to get a good night's rest. Once a proper sleep pattern has developed, your blood pressure should return to normal. However, you should always consult a doctor before using any herbal supplement, including passion fruit tea.
Dose
More research is needed to better establish the proper dosage of passion fruit tea. Typically, you should take around 4 to 8 g of passion flower per day, Drugs.com states. However, the dosage varies depending on why you are taking the herb. Only an experienced health care professional will be able to recommend a proper dosage of passion fruit tea.
References
- Phytochemicals: Passion Fruit
- MedlinePlus; PassionFlower; April 2011
- HighBloodPressureInfo: Passion Flower Tea A Multi-Beneficial Fusion
- MayoClinic; Can Anxiety Cause High Blood Pressure?; Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.; May 2011
- Sleep; "Nighttime Blood Pressure in Normotensive Subjects With Chronic Insomnia: Implications for Cardiovascular Risk"; Paola A. Lanfranchi, MD et al.; June 1, 2009
- Drugs.com: Passion Flower
