The above-ground plant material from Passiflora incarnata is used for relief of symptoms of mental stress and to aid sleep. In Europe, passionflower products are marketed either as registered herbal medicinal products or as food supplements. Passionflower products for sleep disorders are increasingly recommended to patients by physicians or by social advertisement, but the potential consumers are in most cases not able to differentiate between food supplements or licensed herbal medicinal products. Analytical investigations by validated protocols on passionflower food supplements and registered medicinal products from different sources were performed to obtain an insight into the actual quality situation. TLC fingerprinting revealed the non-identity of five food supplements, while six products met the specification (five registered herbal medicinal products and one food supplement). A validated UHPLC method confirmed this result. LC-MS identified one food supplement containing only hyperoside and lacking other passionflower-related compounds. Quantitative determination of flavones by photometric protocol, as well as by a calibrated UHPLC, indicated that five out of six food supplements did not meet the specified content and identity, suggesting instances of food fraud. All registered herbal medicinal products conformed to the specification. As this analytical investigation is in line with other reports on the low quality of food supplements, transparent and intensified quality control is recommended. In addition, routine analyses of every batch using validated procedures by manufacturers on a batch-by-batch basis should provide a secure basis for improved product quality and for the safety of the consumer.

西番莲 （Passiflora incarnata） 的地上植物材料用于缓解精神压力症状和帮助睡眠。在欧洲，西番莲产品作为注册草药产品或食品补充剂销售。医生或社交广告越来越多地向患者推荐西番莲治疗睡眠障碍的产品，但在大多数情况下，潜在消费者无法区分食品补充剂或获得许可的草药产品。通过经过验证的方案对来自不同来源的西番莲食品补充剂和注册医药产品进行分析调查，以深入了解实际质量情况。TLC 指纹显示 5 种食品补充剂不合格，而 6 种产品符合规格（5 种注册草药产品和 1 种食品补充剂）。经过验证的 UHPLC 方法证实了这一结果。LC-MS 鉴定出一种食品补充剂仅含有金丝桃苷，而不含其他西番莲相关化合物。通过光度法方案以及校准的 UHPLC 对黄酮进行定量测定表明，六分之五的食品补充剂不符合规定的含量和特性，这表明存在食品欺诈的情况。所有注册的草药产品均符合规范。由于这项分析调查与其他关于食品补充剂低质量的报告一致，因此建议进行透明和加强的质量控制。此外，使用制造商的验证程序对每个批次进行逐批例行分析，应为提高产品质量和消费者安全提供安全基础。