Tarragon

Artemisia dracunculus

What tarragon has been studied for

2 associations assessed — 1 with at least some human evidence behind it. Strongest first.

1 Limited
1 Insufficient

Insulin sensitivityBlood Sugar & Metabolic Health · 1 sourceLimited— jump to the detail and sources
Sleep qualitySleep · no source yetInsufficient— jump to the detail and sources

3 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About tarragon

A daisy-family herb with a distinct anise note, central to French sauces. French and Russian tarragon are cultivars of the same species with very different aroma and compound profiles. The USDA entry is the dried leaf per 100 g, which is a very large amount of a very light herb.

Also known as tarragon, French tarragon, Russian tarragon, estragon

Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health Sleep

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Limited

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Insulin sensitivity

Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health

Limited evidence

A standardised ethanolic extract of Russian tarragon has been tested in small trials in people with prediabetes and insulin resistance, with modest and inconsistent effects on insulin and glucose. The material is a concentrated research extract taken at gram doses in capsules, and it is not the herb sold for cooking.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

1 source

Effect of Artemisia dracunculus Administration on Glycemic Control, Insulin Sensitivity, and Insulin Secretion in Patients with Impaired Glucose Tolerance.(opens in a new tab)
Randomised controlled trial · Journal of medicinal food · 2016 · PMID 27097076

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Sleep quality

Sleep

Insufficient evidence

Tarragon has a folk reputation as a mild sedative and appears in herbal sleep blends. There is no human research on tarragon and sleep, so the reputation stands on tradition alone.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Ask about Tarragon

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
Nutrient	Amount	% DV
Macronutrients
Calories	295 kcal	15%
Protein	22.8 g	46%
Total fat	7.24 g	9%
Carbohydrate	50.2 g	18%
Fibre	7.4 g	26%
Water	7.74 g	—
Fats
Saturated fat	1.88 g	9%
Monounsaturated fat	0.474 g	—
Polyunsaturated fat	3.7 g	—
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
EPA (omega-3)	0 g	—
DHA (omega-3)	0 g	—
DPA (omega-3)	0 g	—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)	0.742 g	—
Vitamins
Vitamin A	210 µg	23%
Vitamin C	50 mg	56%
Vitamin D	0 µg	0%
Thiamin (B1)	0.251 mg	21%
Riboflavin (B2)	1.34 mg	103%
Niacin (B3)	8.95 mg	56%
Vitamin B6	2.41 mg	142%
Folate	274 µg	69%
Vitamin B12	0 µg	0%
Minerals
Calcium	1139 mg	88%
Iron	32.3 mg	179%
Magnesium	347 mg	83%
Phosphorus	313 mg	25%
Potassium	3020 mg	64%
Sodium	62 mg	3%
Zinc	3.9 mg	35%
Copper	0.677 mg	75%
Manganese	7.97 mg	346%
Selenium	4.4 µg	8%
Other measured compounds
Caffeine	0 mg	—
Ash	12 g	—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Spices, tarragon, dried (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 170937).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

driedReduces volatile aroma compounds
Tarragon loses much of its characteristic aroma on drying, which is why classic French recipes specify fresh. The dried herb is a noticeably different ingredient rather than a direct substitute.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

Worth knowing
Estragole content
French tarragon is one of the richest culinary sources of estragole, which is genotoxic and carcinogenic in rodents at high doses, and European regulators restrict it in flavourings. The concern attaches to concentrated tarragon oil and habitual heavy use of strong infusions rather than to a béarnaise sauce.
Allergy
Daisy-family allergy
Tarragon is an Artemisia, the same genus as mugwort, and can provoke reactions in people sensitised to mugwort or ragweed pollen — including the mugwort-spice syndrome that also involves celery and carrot.
Interaction
Additive with glucose-lowering medication at extract doses
The tarragon extract studied in prediabetes is taken at gram doses and aims to lower blood glucose. Anyone taking such a supplement alongside insulin or a sulfonylurea should raise it with their clinician.