Apigenin: Benefits, Side Effects, Best Time to Take It & More

Apigenin

(Chamomile Extract)

Evidence: Reasonable
Possible Benefits: High
Safety: Very High

What is apigenin?

Apigenin is a plant extract found in high quantities in chamomile, bacopa monnieri, and pomelo fruit. This compound is often used as a supplement for inducing relaxation and improving sleep quality but can also have various other beneficial effects. This article is about the main benefits of apigenin, its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.

Possible benefits

All of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. As with other adaptogens, there is a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get most of the benefits without causing meaningful side effects or tolerance buildup in the body. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.

Major benefits

Calming effects – Apigenin can reduce stress and anxiety and promote calmness and relaxation. This is especially helpful when you take this supplement before bed or after a stressful situation.

Minor benefits

Improved mitochondrial biogenesis and function – Animal studies show that apigenin from chamomile supports nuclear transcription factors of mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial density and function.
Improved sleep quality – When taken before bed, apigenin can make it easier to fall asleep and improve sleep quality and duration. This benefit applies mainly to people who struggle with insomnia or other sleep disorders.
Reduced inflammation – While more studies are needed to confirm this effect, apigenin appears to have anti-inflammatory properties independent of its sleep-promoting effects.
Increased healthspan and lifespan – While this effect hasn’t been studied directly in humans yet as the studies would be very costly and would take a long time to create, animal studies suggest that apigenin supports SIRT-1 signaling, mTOR signaling, NF-κB signaling, and more. All of these mechanisms are associated with healthy aging and increases in lifespan and healthspan.

Possible side effects

The side effects below are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.

Sedation and sleepiness – Apigenin at doses higher than 8 mg/kg can make you feel tired and sleepy, so it’s best to take it when you want to sleep or relax.
Initial adverse reaction – When you start taking apigenin, things can get worse before they get better. This supplement can temporarily worsen some aspects of your health and even make you sick for a few days after you start taking it. That can be unpleasant, but it is usually a sign that the supplement is working and creating a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient in the long term.
Allergic reaction – Some people are allergic to chamomile or other sources of apigenin and may experience an allergic reaction after they start taking it. Unlike the “initial adverse reaction,” allergic reactions typically don’t disappear until one stops taking the supplement.
Nausea – This side effect is most common when people take the supplement on an empty stomach.
Diarrhea – You can usually prevent diarrhea or stomach discomfort by taking this compound with a meal.
Toxicity – As an adaptogen, apigenin acts as a mild stressor on the body. That is usually a great thing as it allows your body to adapt to specific forms of stress and become more resilient. However, stressing the body too much can be counter-productive and cause multiple side effects, including toxicity. While acute toxicity is extremely rare, taking high amounts of this compound could lead to chronic toxicity and cause health problems over time. To prevent chronic toxicity or the buildup of tolerance, staying below 500 mg of apigenin in a day is best unless you have a great reason to take more.
Contamination – If growing or storing conditions are not adequately controlled, chamomile or other sources of apigenin can be contaminated with bacteria, molds, and other potentially harmful microorganisms. Some growers also use pesticides and herbicides that can be unsafe. Another issue is that herbal supplements can get contaminated with other supplements and chemicals during the manufacturing process. Choose the brand you get herbs and herbal supplements from wisely. It is often best to use websites like Amazon, where thousands of users have reviewed and rated the products. You are less likely to buy something of lower quality there.

Who should not take apigenin?

You should probably avoid taking apigenin if you:

don’t experience much stress or anxiety and have great sleep (you may not need to take this supplement in that case)
are allergic to chamomile or other sources of apigenin
experience a severe adverse reaction after taking the supplement (though a mild adverse reaction is usually a great thing as it is a sign that the supplement is working and causing a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient)
are pregnant or breastfeeding (while it can be safe to take this adaptogen during pregnancy or breastfeeding, it acts as a mild stressor and can put some unnecessary risk to the child)

Who will benefit the most?

You should consider taking the supplement if you:

have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
wish to improve general health
experience lots of stress and anxiety
have a high budget for supplements and are willing to experiment with a variety of them (assuming you don’t fall into any of the categories that should avoid this supplement, apigenin appears safe and is unlikely to do more harm than good for most people)

How much apigenin should you take?

Because apigenin can be considered an adaptogen, it acts as a mild hormetic stressor on the body, which allows your body to adapt and become more resilient to certain kinds of stressors in the long term.

A higher dose does not necessarily lead to more pronounced benefits. Instead, there appears to be an inverted U-shaped dose-response pattern. In other words, you want to find a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get the benefits of apigenin without putting too much pressure on the body or quickly causing the body to develop tolerance to the supplement.

The sweet spot dose of apigenin is anywhere from 50-200 mg.

The higher end of this range usually provides slightly more benefits in the short term. If you plan to take this supplement for a longer time (multiple months or years), the lower end is probably a better way to go since you would develop tolerance faster if you were to take higher doses.

Additionally, very high doses can put too much pressure on your system and cause health problems if you take the supplement for a prolonged period.

While this supplement could theoretically cause acute toxicity, you’d need to take an extremely high dose that would be way beyond what even the most potent supplements contain.

Like most other adaptogens, it is best to cycle apigenin and take about two days off weekly to reset your tolerance. That will allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.

Keep in mind that the effects of this supplement are cumulative. Therefore, you must take it for at least 2-4 weeks to notice most of the benefits. But again, cycling the supplement and not taking it at least twice a week is necessary to prevent tolerance in the long term.

Best time to take apigenin

The best time to take this supplement is before bed because it has a calming effect and can improve sleep quality.

You can take this supplement with or without food. Each of these options has its benefits. Apigenin should absorb well either way.

If you experience nausea or stomach discomfort when you take this supplement, taking it with food should prevent these unpleasant effects or at least make them less intense.

However, because it is best to take this supplement before bed, it’s usually best to take it without food to prevent any problems associated with eating late.

If you take this supplement on an empty stomach, the short-term effects will kick in faster and be more pronounced.

Interactions

Resveratrol
Resveratrol can enhance the effects of apigenin.

Where to buy apigenin?

In most countries, Amazon is the best option for ordering apigenin and other herbal supplements. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the Internet.

Some brands display the dosage per serving instead of per pill or capsule. Therefore, you may accidentally buy something less potent than you intended. Do not fall for this marketing trick.

FAQ

As with most other herbal supplements, it is best to cycle apigenin and take a break from it for about two days per week to reset your tolerance back to baseline. That will keep your body sensitive to the supplement and allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.

All of these options are fine. The two most important things to consider are the price and dosing. Powders are almost always the cheapest form. However, you may need a highly accurate scale to dose them correctly (preferably 0.001g). You can get one for as little as $20 from Amazon. Dosing the powders also takes time which can add up over months or years. The disadvantage of capsules is that they are often made of bovine gelatine, which rarely comes from ethical sources.

Absolutely. The best time to take this supplement is before bed because it has a calming effect and can improve sleep quality.

This compound should not become harmful once it exceeds the expiration date, but it can lose potency over time. Keep this herbal supplement in a cold, dark, and dry place and it should remain just as potent for many months or even years.

As an adaptogen, apigenin acts as a mild stressor on the body. That is usually a great thing as it allows your body to adapt to specific forms of stress and become more resilient. However, putting too much pressure on the body can be counter-productive and cause multiple side effects, including toxicity. While acute toxicity is extremely rare, taking very high amounts of this supplement could lead to chronic toxicity and cause health problems over time. High doses can also make you develop tolerance much faster than lower doses so they may be less effective in the long term.

While you could safely take higher doses, there is usually no point in taking more than 200 mg of apigenin daily. This amount should give you most of the benefits without meaningful side effects. Paradoxically, taking a higher dose would likely lead to fewer benefits as the body would quickly become accustomed to the supplement.

Unfortunately, there is not much information about the half-life of apigenin in the body. However, most of the effects of this supplement are cumulative, so they mostly happen in the long term rather than acutely. Therefore, the half-life of this compound isn’t very relevant in practice.

The effects of this supplement are cumulative. Therefore, you must take it for at least 2-4 weeks to notice most of the benefits. But again, cycling the compound and not taking it at least twice a week is necessary to prevent tolerance in the long term.

Yes, apigenin is vegan-friendly. If you buy this supplement in a capsulated form, beware that the capsules often contain animal-based gelatin. Instead, find a brand that puts its products into cellulose capsules.

No, it does not. The supplement does not interfere with fasting in any significant way.

References

Most of the information in this guide is based on scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We highly encourage you to use the library to verify anything you read in this article. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.

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