The compound “apigenin” has become extremely popular lately through a series of podcast and YouTube videos for it’s possible uses towards sleep and relaxation.
But what is apigenin, how does it work and what do people use it for? Most importantly, is it safe and where are the best places to source it?
Lets’ find out.
What Is Apigenin?
Apigenin is a plant flavonoids that is maybe the single most studied compound of these various plant flavonoids.
Flavonoids are naturally occurring chemicals in plant tissues -t hey produce the colors and aroma of flowers in order to attract pollinators and reproductions.
They also can protect against other stressors like UV rays, pathogens and both drought and frost tolerance. Essentially flavonoids do a lot to keep plants alive and some of their functions may help humans as well.
Usually flavoinoids are extracted through teas or isolated in standalone supplements - depending on their use.
Benefits of Apigenin
There’s a wide array of potential benefits of apigenin - some have been studied more than others.
Apigenin for Sleep
Apigenin has mostly become popular lately because of its relaxation and sleep properties.
The studies seem to observe that the apigenin may help wind down, but also improve the ability to function and perform the next day.
You may also want to read these articles on sleep
Apigenin for Anxiety
Many of the properties that make apigenin interesting for sleep have also made apigenin useful in studies around anxiety.
Most of these studies have focused primarily on chamomile tea as an analog for apigenin (which contains about 1% apigenin by volume).
Apigenin & Testosterone
Apigenin has some unique interactions with testosterone that both men and women should pay attention to.
In older populations of men, it can possibly delay falling levels of testosterone.
It has been shown in rats to increase testosterone production in rats.
In a study with 30-58 year old men, there were significant increases in both free and DHT after 4 weeks of a sister flavonoid - chrysin.
It also has been shown to inhibit prostate cancer in mice - maybe what apigenin is most commonly known as.
Apigenin & Estrogen
In a few studies, apigenin has been shown (with another flavonoid - Feinstein) to possibly act as a chemopreventative agent against prostate and breast cancer.
Apigenin specifically was found to be
Apigenin For Cancer
Apigenin has been used to help promote prostate health - specifically with prostrate cancer as it’s been shown in some mice to help inhibit it.
While most of these studies are not yet done en masse on humans, researches extrapolate these studies to predict that 50-1250mg/ of flavones could potentially be used to see the same effects.
As mentioned above, apigenin has also been studied as a chemopreventative agent for breast cancer along with other flavonoids, but more studies need to be done on their effects.
Apigenin For Blood Sugar & Diabetes
Apigenin has been shown to help with diabetes + blood sugar by increasing insulin production and helping regular blood sugar levels.
More needs to be studies about this interaction, but it’s also possible that apigenin can help protect against some of the harsher effects of diabetes including blood vessel restriction by increasing the nitric oxide production.
Apigenin for Pain Management
Apigenin has been shown to help decrease levels of interleukin which can help reduce pain due to inflammation.
Apigenin for Inflammation
Apigenin works as an antioxidant and free-radical scavenger which means that it can help improve your immune system’s response. It also appears to have some protective benefits against degeneration diseases like Alzheimers and cancer.
Possible Side Effects of Apigenin
Apigenin is a part of a series of herbs calls falvaonise. These are generally safe and non-toxic, but apigenin does have some unique concerns to it.
First - like any supplement - you may find that you get an upset stomach or slight nausea if you take it on an empty stomach. This is pretty par for the course.
However, because apigenin can act as a sedative, if you take too much - you may experience unwanted muscle relaxation or sedation. While some people desire this result for sleep specifically - it should be dosed correctly and you should be very careful about what you’re consuming alongside this.
Additionally, because apigenin does interact with the brain, you may find it has some strange interactions if you’re on any prescription medications. Because of this, you should talk to your doctor before adding this to your stack.
Standard Apigenin Dosage
Because it’s considered a flavonoid, there are no toxicity reports on apigenin, but there are possibilities for higher side effects if a higher dose is used.
Many people consume different dosages depending on their use.
For anxiety, as little as 5mg of apigenin (or 500mg of chamomile tea) have been shown to help reduce anxiety.
For testosterone, 20-40mg is typically seen as beneficially, but could possibly be more effective in higher doses.
For blood sugar, 10-40mg per kg of weight seems to have effects.
For sleep, Dr. Andrew Huberman recommends 50mg of Apigenin here for sleep purposes.
For cancer, apigenin should be a joint decision made between you and your oncologist (research has been done on 50-120mg/day).
Foods high in apigenin
Apigenin is a flavonoid which is a compound found throughout many plants. There are a wide variety of plants that contain apigenin - many you might not have guessed including:
- Chamomile (the most well known).
- Grapefruits
- Onions
- Oranges
- Parsley
- Celery
- Yarrow
- Cilantro
- Licorice
- Flax
- Spearmint
- Basil
- Oregano
- Red wine
- Beer
How much Apigenin is found in Chamomile?
Chamomile is maybe the most known food that contains high levels of apigenin. In fact, it may contain as much as .8-1.2% apigenin by weight. This is partly why chamomile has become so popular as a nighttime drink.
Chamomile is so popular that people sometimes refer to it entirely when talking about apigenin and studies on the compound.
Buying Apigenin as a Supplement
We do not offer apigenin at IMPOSSIBLE due to it’s unique interactions with the brain and both testosterone and estrogen.
While our Impossible Sleep stack works well for most people and covers the base, if you’d like to manually add the apigenin dose, we recommend the following source. They’ve been around a while, are reliable, and available at a reasonable price.
Other Resources on Apigenin
Other research & citations on apigenin you may want to read:
- Apigenin on Examine.com
- NLM on Apigenin
- Therapeutic potential of apigenin
- Flavonoids on NLM
- Apigenin & Cancer
- Apigenin & Estrogen
image source via: Swanson vitamins / By Polina Kovaleva from Pexels