Benefits
A food source of fiber, vitamin C and vitamin A
Per 100 g, raw purple passion fruit (pulp with seeds) provides about 10.4 g of total fiber, 30 mg of vitamin C, 64 mcg RAE of vitamin A and 348 mg of potassium for 97 kcal, according to USDA data. One fruit without refuse weighs about 18 g, so a single fruit adds roughly 2 g of fiber and 5 mg of vitamin C.
Skin hydration and wrinkle grades with seed-derived piceatannol
In an 8-week placebo-controlled trial in 82 Japanese women, enrolled partly for drier skin, a daily drink with 10 mg of piceatannol from passion fruit seeds raised facial skin hydration and improved wrinkle grades more than placebo. An earlier 32-woman trial of seed extract (5 mg piceatannol) beat placebo on moisture only in the driest-skin subgroup. The maker, Morinaga, funded or ran both. These test a seed concentrate, not the fruit.
Fasting blood sugar with yellow passion fruit peel flour
In a 120-day placebo-controlled trial in 89 adults with type 2 diabetes, 1.5 g a day of yellow passion fruit albedo (inner peel) flour in capsules lowered fasting glucose and HbA1c more than placebo. In a separate 8-week open trial in 54 adults with type 2 diabetes, 36 g a day of rind flour did not change fasting glucose or HbA1c compared with usual care.
Insulin markers with seed piceatannol in overweight men
In an 8-week placebo-controlled trial of 39 adults, 20 mg a day of piceatannol purified from passion fruit seed extract lowered insulin and HOMA-IR versus placebo only in overweight men (5 per group); the other subgroups showed no change. Morinaga funded the trial, supplied the capsules and employed two authors. A 7-day trial in 8 active men found no change in fat burning.
Knee pain, stiffness and function scores with a purple peel extract
In a 2-month placebo-controlled trial in 33 adults with knee osteoarthritis, 150 mg a day of purple passion fruit peel extract lowered self-rated WOMAC pain, stiffness and function scores by about 18 to 20%, while scores rose on placebo. A 2018 meta-analysis found a large pain effect versus placebo but noted it rested on this single trial. Three authors held a US patent on the extract.
Wheeze, cough and breathlessness reports with a purple peel extract
In a 4-week placebo-controlled trial in adults with asthma, 150 mg a day of purple passion fruit peel extract reduced reported wheeze, cough and shortness of breath and raised forced vital capacity, while placebo did not. FEV1, a key lung function measure, did not improve. Results are within-group, two authors held a US patent on the extract, and it is not a substitute for asthma care.
Mechanism of action
Piceatannol, a resveratrol relative concentrated in the seeds
Passion fruit seeds contain large amounts of piceatannol, a stilbene closely related to resveratrol. In muscle cells it raised SIRT1, an enzyme tied to energy and fat handling, and in a 2-week trial by its maker, 100 mg a day raised SIRT1 gene activity in blood more than placebo. That is a laboratory marker, not a health outcome; see the piceatannol page for more.
Peel fiber that binds water
In laboratory analysis of yellow passion fruit rind, total dietary fiber made up more than 73% of the alcohol-insoluble material, most of it insoluble, and the fiber held more than 3 g of water per gram. This bulk fiber is the main reason peel flours are studied with meals; it is a composition finding, not a human outcome.
Peel extract compounds and blood pressure in rats
In spontaneously hypertensive rats, a single oral dose of passion fruit peel extract at 50 mg/kg or more lowered blood pressure versus control, and its edulilic acid and anthocyanin fractions did the same while its GABA did not. The first author worked for Kemin, an ingredient company. This is animal work; effects in people are not established.
Clinical trials
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a daily drink with 10 mg of piceatannol derived from passion fruit seeds for 8 weeks, registered UMIN000056580; Morinaga funded it and employed 9 of 11 authors. (Seto et al. 2026, Front Nutr)
Healthy Japanese women aged 30 to 59; 86 enrolled and 82 analyzed (41 per group).
Facial stratum corneum hydration rose significantly more than with placebo, and wrinkle grades improved significantly versus placebo. Women with relatively lower baseline hydration were prioritized for enrollment, and one mild adverse event (transient hives, judged unrelated) occurred on piceatannol.
Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of passion fruit seed extract supplying 5 mg of piceatannol a day, versus dextrin placebo, for 8 weeks; three of four authors were from Morinaga. (Maruki-Uchida et al. 2018, J Nutr Sci Vitaminol)
32 healthy Japanese women aged 35 to 54 with dry skin.
Skin moisture rose within the extract group at 4 and 8 weeks; a between-group gain over placebo was seen only in a subgroup with the driest skin. Transepidermal water loss fell but not significantly. Questionnaire ratings of perspiration and fatigue were lower than with placebo.
Investigator-initiated, randomized (1:1), double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial of 20 mg/day piceatannol purified from passion fruit seed extract (81.4% purity) for 8 weeks, analyzed within four sex and weight groups; funded by Morinaga, which also supplied the capsules and paid the salaries of two authors. (Kitada et al. 2017, Nutrients)
39 adults in Japan: 10 overweight men, 9 overweight women, 10 non-overweight men and 10 non-overweight women.
In overweight men (5 per group), the change in fasting insulin (minus 18.8% vs plus 23.7%) and HOMA-IR differed from placebo, though their baseline insulin was higher than in the placebo group; blood pressure and heart rate fell within the piceatannol group. Non-overweight men and both groups of women showed no benefit on these measures. Body weight, lipids, inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial function and mood did not change.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover of piceatannol tablets (Passienol, Morinaga) at 10 mg/day for 7 days, funded by university grants. (Kasai et al. 2025, J Clin Biochem Nutr)
8 physically active young men, tested at rest, during 60 minutes of low-intensity cycling and after.
Oxygen uptake, respiratory exchange ratio and blood fat-burning markers (free fatty acids, glycerol, ketones) did not differ from placebo at any point. Growth hormone, cortisol and insulin responses also did not differ.
Randomized, placebo-controlled trial with three arms: yellow passion fruit albedo flour capsules (500 mg three times daily), turmeric with piperine, or carboxymethyl cellulose placebo alongside standard dietary advice. (Sousa et al. 2021, J Am Coll Nutr)
89 adults with type 2 diabetes.
Fasting glucose fell 5.9% with albedo flour versus a 9% rise on placebo (p < 0.05), and HbA1c fell 0.8% in both active arms versus placebo. Albedo flour did not lower triglycerides (plus 1.8%) or HOMA-IR more than placebo; turmeric did. The authors judged turmeric more cost-effective.
Open, prospective, randomized trial in matched pairs: 12 g of rind flour before each of three meals (36 g/day) for 8 weeks versus usual health service care; funded by Brazil's national research council (CNPq) and registered retrospectively. (de Araújo et al. 2017, J Diabetes Metab Disord)
54 adults with type 2 diabetes in Brazil.
Capillary glucose (p = 0.562), fasting glucose (p = 0.268) and HbA1c (p = 0.229) did not differ between groups after 8 weeks. The authors concluded the flour did not improve glycemic control in this sample.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial of purple passion fruit peel extract pills (150 mg/day) for 2 months; three authors (Watson, Foo and Lu) were inventors on a US patent for this extract, assigned to Watson's consulting firm and New Zealand's Industrial Research Ltd; the abstract names no funder. (Farid et al. 2010, Nutr Res)
33 adults with knee osteoarthritis in Iran.
WOMAC total and function scores improved within the extract group by 30 days and pain by 60 days, with reductions of 18.6% (pain), 18% (stiffness), 19.6% (function) and 19.2% (total) at 60 days; scores rose in every category on placebo. The abstract does not report a between-group test; a 2018 meta-analysis that included only this trial computed a large pain effect versus placebo (effect size 1.65) and warned that a single-trial estimate is likely to change.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of purple passion fruit peel extract (150 mg/day), described as a mixture of bioflavonoids, for 4 weeks; the first author listed his private consulting firm in Arizona, and he and Foo LY were inventors on a US patent for this extract assigned to that firm and Industrial Research Ltd; the abstract names no funder. (Watson et al. 2008, Nutr Res)
Adults with asthma; the abstract gives no number; the related patent reports 44 enrolled and 42 completing.
Reported wheeze, cough and shortness of breath fell significantly within the extract group but not the placebo group, and forced vital capacity rose with the extract. FEV1 did not improve. No adverse effects were reported. Results are framed as changes within each group.