Herbal medicines containingPassifloraspecies have been widely used to treat anxiety since ancient times. The speciesPassiflora incarnataL. is included in many Pharmacopoeias, and it is the most used species in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. However, there are around 600 species of the genusPassifloraand probably other species that can be used safely. Thus, this article was based on a search into the uses of the main species of the genusPassiflorawith anxiolytic activity and its main secondary metabolites and some pharmacological studies, patents, and registered products containingPassiflora.Furthermore, the Brazilian Regulatory Health Agency Datavisa, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of the United Kingdom, and the European Medicines Agency websites were consulted. The results showed thatPassifloraspecies have health benefits but clinical trials are still scarce. The complexity ofPassifloraextracts creates challenges for the development of herbal medicines.P. incarnatais the most studied species of the genus and the most used in natural anxiolytic herbal medicine formulations. However, there are hundreds ofPassifloraspecies potentially useful for medicinal and nutraceutical purposes that are still little explored.

Leishmaniasis is a vector‐borne disease that affects several populations worldwide, against which there are no vaccines available and the chemotherapy is highly toxic. Depending on the species causing the infection, the disease is characterized by commitment of tissues, including the skin, mucous membranes, and internal organs. Despite the relevance of host inflammatory mediators on parasite burden control, Leishmania and host immune cells interaction may generate an exacerbated proinflammatory response that plays an important role in the development of leishmaniasis clinical manifestations. Plant‐derived natural products have been recognized as bioactive agents with several properties, including anti‐protozoal and anti‐inflammatory activities. The present review focuses on the antileishmanial activity of plant‐derived natural products that are able to modulate the inflammatory response in vitro and in vivo. The capability of crude extracts and some isolated substances in promoting an anti‐inflammatory response during Leishmania infection may be used as part of an effective strategy to fight the disease.

Some triterpenes and iridoids were previously isolated from the stem bark of Himatanthus sucuuba. The latex from Himatanthus sucuuba is used in popular amazonian medicine as an anti-inflammatory remedy. Fractions of the latex were pharmacologically evaluated with a view to verify this popular use in the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema and in the acetic acid-induced mouse constriction tests. The hexane fraction inhibited the edema formation by 35.9 % at a dose of 200 mg/kg (p.o.) but no activity was observed at 100 mg/kg (p.o.). The triterpenes present in the hexane fraction were identified as lupeol acetate, α-amyrin and lupeol cinnamates. The fraction containing only cinnamates inhibited the edema and the abdominal constrictions by 50 - 40 % and 57.9 %, respectively, at 100 mg/kg (p.o.). Among all the fractions studied, the fraction containing only cinnamates showed the greatest anti-inflammatory activity which suggests that these compounds were responsible for the previously described activity of the crude extract.

Bicyclogermacrene (35.12%), (E)-caryophyllene (14.19%) and α-copaene (8.19%). The antimicrobial and antileishmanial activities were investigated. The oil showed potent antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans and Rhodococcus equi. The oil also showed significant antileishmanial activity, giving the best results against Leishmania guyanensis. A preliminary cytotoxicity assay for this oil was carried out on hamster and mice (Balb/c) peritoneal macrophages. The results obtained were similar to pentamidine and considered not to be cytotoxic to macrophages.