Passion Fruit: Nutrients, What Research Shows and Safety

Passion fruit is the fruit of Passiflora edulis, a climbing vine in the passion-flower family (Passifloraceae). People eat the juicy, seedy pulp inside the tough skin, fresh or in drinks and desserts. It is eaten for its fiber and vitamin C, and for its tropical taste. This page keeps the fruit apart from supplements and from hype, and it says what research does and does not show.

Read this first

• Passion fruit can cause allergy, including in people who are allergic to latex (case reports exist, see below). For trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat, call 911.
• The skin, unripe fruit and leaves are not the usual food. Laboratory work found cyanide-releasing compounds (cyanogenic glycosides) in passion fruit peel, fiber and juice. [6][7] We did not find a source that gives a safe amount, so we give none.
• Eating the pulp supplies a lot of fiber and vitamin C. Evidence that it prevents or treats a disease in people is limited: most studies on health effects used peel extract, or were done in animals.

What is in it (USDA values)

Source: USDA FoodData Central, item 169108, purple passion fruit, raw (SR Legacy). [1] USDA also lists a smaller portion: 1 fruit without refuse is 18 g, so one fruit gives only about one tenth of these cup amounts. % Daily Value uses the FDA 2016 Daily Values; values vary with variety, ripeness and storage.

The pulp contains beta-carotene (743 ug per 100 g in USDA data), which the body can turn into vitamin A. [1] Reviews list more than 110 plant compounds in the plant, mostly flavonoids and triterpenoids, but this is mainly from lab work and from the leaves, peel and stems. [5] In the peel, flavonoids and related pigments rose as the fruit ripened, and were higher in purple than in yellow fruit (laboratory measurement). [12]

What research says

Eaten as food vs taken as a supplement or extract. The human trial results above came from peel extract supplements, not from eating the pulp. A result for a peel extract does not apply to the fruit you eat, and eating the fruit does not give you an extract's effect. Observational studies of fruit eating in general are not proof for passion fruit in particular, and a food rich in a nutrient is not proof that it treats a disease. We did not find a good human trial of eating the pulp for any health goal: Proper evidence not found in the sources we read.

How much is a normal serving

USDA lists household portions of 1 cup of pulp with seeds (236 g) and 1 fruit without refuse (18 g). [1] This is information, not a prescription. We could not read the official MyPlate figure for a serving of fruit, so we do not quote one. For a general view of juice versus whole fruit and canned or frozen forms, see fruit juice vs whole fruit and fresh, frozen and canned produce. Sweetened passion fruit drinks and desserts add sugar; check the label.

Safety, allergy and medicines

• Allergy and latex. A 2009 case report described clinically relevant cross-reactivity between latex and passion fruit, and a 2024 report described allergy to the moth plant and passion fruit. [8][9] We read only the records (titles and indexing), not the full reports, so we cannot say how common this is. People with a known latex allergy or a past reaction to passion fruit should ask an allergist. See food allergy basics and emergency signs.
• Natural cyanide compounds. A laboratory study identified cyanogenic glycosides in several Passiflora fruits; the peel had the most (prunasin about 285 mg/kg in the yellow variety), and juice about 99 mg/kg of two compounds. [6] Passion fruit fiber made from the by-product contained about 748 mg/kg of cyanogenic compounds, and extrusion cooking cut it only partly. [7] Whether normal eating of the pulp is a problem was not tested in these studies. A 2020 review states that daily eating of passion fruit at common amounts is non-toxic. [5] Do not eat the tough skin, and treat unripe fruit and leaf teas with caution; we found no source giving a safe amount.
• Other plants called passionflower. Passiflora incarnata (the herb passionflower) is a different species with a different use. See passionflower. Results for that herb do not apply to the fruit.
• Peel extract and fiber products. Supplements made from the peel are not covered by safe-intake data we read. Ask a pharmacist before combining them with medicines; see food and medicine interactions.
• Fiber. One cup has a very large amount of fiber by USDA values. [1] Sudden large increases in fiber can cause gas and bloating; see how much fiber per day and fiber side effects. We did not read a passion fruit specific source on this.
• Potassium and kidneys. One cup supplies about 17% of the Daily Value for potassium. [1] People with kidney disease or on medicines that raise potassium should ask a clinician; see foods in kidney disease: potassium and oxalates. We found no passion fruit specific warning.
• Pregnancy. We found no source we read that gives passion fruit specific pregnancy advice. See foods in pregnancy.

Choosing, storing and food safety

• Rinse fruit under running water before cutting, even if you do not eat the skin; do not use soap or produce wash. [10]
• Wash hands with soap for 20 seconds before and after handling produce, and keep it away from raw meat. [10]
• Cut away bruised or damaged areas; keep cut or pre-cut produce in a refrigerator at 40 F (4 C) or below. [10]

Related pages

• Fruit juice vs whole fruit
• Fresh, frozen and canned produce
• Food allergy basics and emergency signs
• Food and medicine interactions
• Passionflower (the herb, a different species)
• Observational vs trial evidence in nutrition