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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Melanie-00 on December 15, 2010, at 16:05:34
Can anyone recommend a high quality, standardized passionflower (herb, extract, etc) available to buy in the US?
Is Passipy available? I think this may be manufactured in Iran, so maybe not available in the US.
I am looking at the possibility of passionflower as an over-the-counter, non-prescription treatment for severe anxiety (GAD).
Thanks in advance!
Posted by Christ_empowered on December 15, 2010, at 19:07:28
In reply to High-quality, Standardized Passionflower in the US, posted by Melanie-00 on December 15, 2010, at 16:05:34
I checked vitacost.com, which is where I usually get my supplements (I'm not advertising them, they're just who I go to) and they had a couple options, but no patented/trademarked preparations like you might find with st. john's wort (perika, for instance). I personally have had good luck with NSI brand supplements (the vitacost-produced brand), but I haven't used their passion flower so I can't vouch for it.
Good luck
Posted by Melanie-00 on December 15, 2010, at 20:00:29
In reply to Re: High-quality, Standardized Passionflower in the US, posted by Christ_empowered on December 15, 2010, at 19:07:28
Thanks so much for checking for me. I have been busy doing more of a literature search on passionflower, and I have to admit, that it's now dropped to the bottom of my list as a possibility. Currently, the research on the efficacy and safety of passionflower just isn't enough for me to feel comfortable taking this herb. It might be the greatest thing in the world, but I generally like to have a little more reason to trust an herb before I try it. While there is some very weak research supporting the potential anxiolytic effects of passionflower, on the whole this herb is not recommended by those who have evaluated the biomedical research on alternative/herbal treatments, and it's not known if it's totally safe. (I found a report of a hospitalization following normal therapeutic ingestion of passionflower, though I imagine anything other than minor adverse impacts are rare. Still ...)
Anyway, thanks again. I hope this info is useful to someone else, and I very much appreciate you taking the time to help me.
Posted by bleauberry on December 20, 2010, at 19:44:20
In reply to High-quality, Standardized Passionflower in the US, posted by Melanie-00 on December 15, 2010, at 16:05:34
Passionflower can sure work. It has saved me several times.
With most botanicals the synergy of different plants usually produces results greater than any of the individual components. The Chinese for example usually have 6 to 12 or more plants in any single prescription.
Ones that combine well syergistically with Passionflower:
Lemon Balm
SkullcapThere are lots of plants for severe anxiety but with many of them that is not their primary purpose. So we don't hear much about them. They would include several dozen, some of them being Bacopa, Rosemary, Rhodiola Rosea, St Johns Wort (goes really well with Lemon Balm). Some of the antibacterial/antifungal herbs have remarkable calming action to them.
I have tried a bunch. The period of my severe anxiety, nervousness, and fear of public was the three months after weaning off of Zyprexa and Prozac and cannibas. Of the three herbs I used at the time to calm down when it just got too rough to handle, Lemon Balm was the one with most pronounced amazing rapid calmness without drowsiness. Passionflower and Skullcap were good too, but Lemon Balm just felt stronger and clean. Skullcap and Passionflower had some sedation to them. They are also used for insomnia. Lemon Balm didn't seem to have the same sedation. Once you know what each herb does to you, then you can combine them in custom tailored ratios for best effect.
In tincture form the best quality I am aware of is from HerbPharm. For pills I don't know. I would imagine most of the common brands out there are probably good. For fastest action, potency, and absorption, tincture is the only way to go. Easy measuring for custom doses too.
But I would never suggest to anyone to try some particular herb and only that herb. That is the correct starting point though.
Posted by Melanie-00 on December 21, 2010, at 10:42:44
In reply to Re: High-quality, Standardized Passionflower in the US, posted by bleauberry on December 20, 2010, at 19:44:20
Thank you for your detailed reply! Good to know about a brand of tincture that's recommended. I saw a lot of people selling tinctures on Etsy, but I don't know who to trust.
Any good research on lemon balm that you know of?
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine [NCCAM] recently sponsored a study on the short-term effects of chamomile on generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) (using pills, not tincture, I believe). The effect of the chamomile, versus a placebo, on anxiety symptoms was small but statistically significant. I noticed that these same researchers are now planning a follow-up study on using chamomile for anxiety more long-term, though I think we are a few years off from seeing any results from this new study.
Here's the citation for anyone interested:
Amsterdam, Jay D. et al. 2009. A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Matricaria recutita (Chamomile) Extract Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology 29(4):378-382
This is the end of the thread.
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