Who should not take passionflower?

The EMA's own contraindication for passionflower is simple — an allergy to it — but its warnings list several groups with a real reason for caution: anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, anyone under 12, anyone about to drive or operate machinery, and anyone already taking a sedating medication.

An allergy to passionflower

The European Medicines Agency's monograph lists hypersensitivity to Passiflora incarnata as its only formal contraindication. If you've reacted to passionflower before, in any form, that's a reason to avoid it going forward.

Pregnant or breastfeeding

If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to a doctor before using passionflower in any form. The EMA's monograph states that safety in pregnancy and lactation hasn't been established, and that in the absence of sufficient data, use isn't recommended during either. Neither of the two human trials enrolled pregnant participants.

Children under 12

The EMA's monograph doesn't recommend passionflower for children under 12, citing a lack of adequate data — not a finding that it's unsafe, but an acknowledgment that it hasn't been studied in that age group. Both human trials enrolled adults only.

Before driving or operating machinery

The same monograph states passionflower may impair the ability to drive or use machines, and that anyone affected shouldn't do either. That's a general caution rather than a finding tied to a specific dose, since it comes from the traditional-use registration rather than a trial that tested driving performance directly.

Anyone taking a sedating medication

A published case report describes a patient being treated with the benzodiazepine lorazepam who developed tremor, dizziness and fatigue after also self-medicating with valerian and passionflower — the authors suspected an additive effect on the same brain receptors both a benzodiazepine and passionflower are thought to act on. The EMA's monograph itself lists no reported interactions, but that reflects an absence of formal interaction studies, not a tested clean bill — see passionflower and medications: what to check for more on this.

Before a scheduled surgery or procedure

The one trial that tested passionflower before a medical procedure did so under medical supervision, at a specific 500 mg dose, and found no slowdown in recovery from anesthesia. That's not the same as adding it yourself, unsupervised, before a scheduled procedure — tell your surgical or anesthesia team about any supplement you're taking, passionflower included, before a procedure.

Questions people ask

Is passionflower safe for kidney or liver problems?

Neither human trial studied people with kidney or liver disease, and no dedicated safety research exists for either group. That's a gap in what's been tested, not a clean bill of health — ask a doctor before using passionflower if either applies to you.

Who shouldn't drink passionflower tea?

The same groups above apply to tea as to any other form: anyone with a known allergy to passionflower, anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, children under 12, and anyone taking a sedating medication without first asking a doctor.

Related reading: passionflower side effects, passionflower and medications: what to check, and how much passionflower should you take a day?.