Fitoterapia. 2001 Dec; 72(8): 922-6.

Anxiolytic activity of aerial and underground parts of Passiflora incarnata.

Dhawan K, Kumar S, Sharma A.

Pharmacognosy Division, University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India. [email protected]

The petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol, and water extracts of Passiflora incarnata whole plant and sorted out plant parts have been evaluated for their anxiolytic activity using the elevated plus-maze model in mice. The methanol extracts of leaves, stems, flowers, and whole plant exhibited anxiolytic effects at 100, 125, 200 and 300 mg/kg, respectively. The roots were practically devoid of anxiolytic effects. These results show that roots and flowers of P. incarnata act as natural adulterants by causing a significant increase in the anxiolytic dose. Therefore, separation of these parts is recommended prior to any pharmacological, phytochemical and standardization studies on P. incarnata.