A flavone found in chamomile, parsley and celery, sold as a purified isolate. It binds benzodiazepine sites on the GABA-A receptor weakly in laboratory work, which is the basis of its use in sleep products.
Apigenin became a popular sleep supplement largely through podcasts rather than trials. The pharmacology is real but weak: apigenin is a low-affinity ligand at the benzodiazepine binding site, and chamomile tea has some human trial evidence for sleep and anxiety — but chamomile tea contains a few milligrams of apigenin at most, while capsules contain fifty. No trial has tested isolated apigenin for sleep in humans. There is also a laboratory finding that deserves mention because it points the wrong way for a bedtime supplement: apigenin inhibits aromatase and has been shown to reduce testosterone production in animal and cell studies.
Sold as
Capsule, Powder, Chamomile extract standardised to apigenin
Standardised to
Milligrams of apigenin, or percentage apigenin in a chamomile extract — a product without this marker may not resemble what was studied.
Also known as
4′,5,7-trihydroxyflavone, Chamomile flavone
Regulation: Sold as a dietary supplement in the US without pre-market efficacy review. Chamomile extracts standardised to apigenin are a different product from purified apigenin, and the human trial evidence belongs to the former.
What the research used
The amounts, forms and durations published trials of Apigenin actually administered.
These are the amounts published trials administered — not a recommendation, and not a dose to copy. Trial participants were screened, supervised and given a characterised preparation. What is in a retail bottle is frequently not what was studied, and the amount that suits one person is not general advice.
Studied for Popular sleep use
50 mg
Not enough
Capsule, before bed
This is the dose that circulates online, not a trial dose. No randomised trial of isolated apigenin for sleep has been published, so this figure has no evidential basis.
Studied for Chamomile extract trials
270–1500 mg
Limited
Standardised chamomile extract, daily · 2–8 weeks
The human sleep and anxiety evidence used whole chamomile extract, which contains apigenin among many other compounds. It cannot be attributed to apigenin.
This is general information about food, not medical advice. It cannot diagnose, treat or replace guidance from a clinician who knows your history.
When it was taken
Each window says whether a trial compared it against an alternative, or whether it is convention and pharmacology. Most timing advice is the second kind.
None of the timings below were directly compared in a trial. They reflect how the research happened to dose, or what the pharmacology implies — which is not the same as a timing being better.
🌙Evening
Not enough
Taken before bed because that is what it is marketed for. No trial has compared evening with any other timing for isolated apigenin.
Timing was not directly compared. This reflects convention or how the compound behaves in the body, not a trial showing this window works better.
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 promising the supplement sounds. How we rate evidence.
Chamomile extract standardised for apigenin content has been tested in generalised anxiety disorder with modest reductions in symptom scores in small trials. Isolated apigenin has not been tested for this.
Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.
There is no randomised trial of purified apigenin for sleep. The human evidence belongs to chamomile extract, where results in older adults and people with generalised anxiety are modest and mixed.
What may be going on: Apigenin binds the benzodiazepine site on GABA-A receptors with low affinity in vitro, producing sedative-like effects in rodents at doses well above those used in supplements.
Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.
Randomised controlled trial · Journal of psychiatric research · 2018 · PMID 29080520
Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.
Things to know
Interactions, contraindications and dose limits, most serious first. Concentrated extracts interact with medication in ways the whole plant does not, so this section carries more weight here than it does on a food page.
Worth knowing
Aromatase inhibition and hormone effects
Apigenin inhibits aromatase and has reduced testosterone production in animal and cell studies. That has not been measured in people taking supplements, but it is an odd property for a compound taken nightly and is rarely mentioned by sellers.
Allergy
Chamomile-source products and ragweed allergy
Chamomile belongs to the Asteraceae family and can cause reactions in people allergic to ragweed, chrysanthemum or marigold, including rare anaphylaxis. Purified apigenin is a different matter, but many products are chamomile extracts.
Interaction
Additive with sedatives, and CYP inhibition
Interacts withBenzodiazepines, sedative hypnotics, alcohol, CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 substrates
Anything acting at GABA-A sites should be treated as potentially additive with benzodiazepines, sleep medication and alcohol. Apigenin also inhibits CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 in laboratory work, which raises interaction questions with warfarin and many other drugs.
Worth knowing
The popular dose has no trial behind it
The widely repeated 50 mg bedtime dose originates in podcast discussion rather than published research. There is no established human dose for isolated apigenin and no long-term safety data.
In the food catalogue
The whole-food form, where one exists. The evidence for a concentrated extract rarely transfers to the food, or the other way round — these are cross-links, not equivalents.