Family: Passifloraceae
Genus: Passiflora
Species: incarnata, edulis
Common Names: Maracuja, passionflower, carkifelek, charkhi felek, maypop, maypop passionflower, saa't gulu, ward assa'ah, zahril aalaam, granadilla, passionvine, maracoc, apricot-vine, saa't gulu, ward assa'ah, zahril aalaam
Part Used: Vine, Leaves, Stem

Various species of Passiflora, climbing vines native to the South American tropics and rainforest, have been domesticated to eat as fresh fruit or to make refreshing and nutritive juices. In the Brazil Amazon alone, over 200 species of fruit-bearing Passiflora have been cataloged. Yellow passionfruit, (Passiflora edulis) is the most widely cultivated species in the warm humid tropics, and its yellow gelatinous pulp is mixed with water and sugar to make drinks, sherbet, ice cream, jam, jellies and salad dressings. Yellow passionfruit grows on 10 to 20 foot long vines and are the size of large lemons, wrinkling slightly when ripe.

Passionfruit is catching on as a popular drink in both industrial and developing countries and a new fruit juice may be hitting the American market in the near future. Scientist have created a new fruit in a 20 year old research project, called "Passion Pops," by cross breeding the tropical Passiflora edulis with its US relative, Passiflora incarnata and is producing tennis-ball sized fruits. The fruits range in color from yellow to green, dark maroon and purple. One of the benefits of the new fruit is that it will grow farther north than the traditional US passionfruit and provide an alternative to farmers who have been hurt by winter freezes of citrus crops. Several US-based juice companies have expressed interest in the new fruit and some new juice products may be on the market in the near future.

Passionfruit has been a food staple for the people and animals of the Rainforest for eons. The leaves of many of the Passiflora species have been used for centuries by indigenous tribes as a sedative or calming tonic. The passionfruit of Passiflora edulis has been used by the Brazilian tribes as a heart tonic and passionfruit is still used today in South American traditional medicine. Antonio Bernardes notes that: "A cup of Maracuja tea [leaves] or 2 glasses of juice will naturally calm down the most hyperactive child, and for this reason it is highly valued by Brazilian mothers." and Daniel B. Mowrey notes: "The Brazilians even have a favorite passion flower drink, called maracuja grande, that frequently used to treat asthma, whooping cough, bronchitis and other tough coughs." In Peruvian traditional medicine today, passionfruit juice is used for urinary infections and as a mild diuretic. Researchers have documented the properties of passionfruit juice in at least 4 studies.

ETHNOBOTANY: WORLDWIDE USES
Brazil	Food, sedative
Peru	Food, diuretic, urinary infections
Amazonia	Food, heart tonic

References/Footnotes:

• Smith, Nigel, et.al., 1992, Tropical Forests and their Crops, Comstock Publishing, New York.
• HerbalGram No.27 1992. "Passion-Passion Pop"
• Antonio Bernardes. 1984. A Pocket Book of Brazilian Herbs,, Editora e Arta Ltda, Lima
• Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D., 1993. Herbal Tonic Therapies, Keats Publishing, Inc.
• Kember Mejia and Elsa Reng, 1995. Plantas medicinales de uso popular en la Amazonia Peruana. AECI and IIAP, Lima, Peru.
• Zúñiga Rojas J. [Oil seeds from the American tropics] Arch Latinoam Nutr 31: 2, 1981 Jun, 350-70
• Spencer KC, et al. Cyanogenesis of Passiflora edulis. J Agric Food Chem 31: 4, 1983 Jul-Aug, 794-6, 1983 Jul-Aug
• Lutomski J, et al. [Pharmacochemical investigations on raw materials genus passiflora. 3. Phytochemical investigations on raw materials of passiflora edulis forma flavicarpa (author's transl)] Planta Med, 27: 3, 1975 May, 222-5
• Lutomski J, et al. Pharmacochemical investigations of the raw materials from passiflora
• genus. 2. The pharmacochemical estimation of juices from the fruits of Passiflora edulis and Passiflora edulis from a flavicarpa. Planta Med, 27: 2, 1975 Mar, 112-21

The above text has been quoted from Herbal Secrets of the Rainforest by Leslie Taylor, copyrighted © 1998 All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, including websites, without written permission.

 

* The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information contained in this plant database file is intended for education, entertainment and information purposes only. This information is not intended to be used to diagnose, prescribe or replace proper medical care. The plant described herein is not intended to treat, cure, diagnose, mitigate or prevent any disease. Please refer to our Conditions of Use for using this plant database file and web site.

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