Apigenin for Sleep: Animal Data, Chamomile Trials and What Is Missing

Apigenin is a flavonoid, a plant compound, found in chamomile and other plants. It is sold as a supplement for sleep. This guide sets out what the research says about apigenin itself, what it says about chamomile, the plant extract used in the human studies we found, and why the two are not the same thing.

It is not medical advice. If sleep trouble is persistent, talk to a healthcare provider.

The Short Answer

We found no human trial of apigenin on its own for sleep. Our PubMed search of titles and abstracts for apigenin with sleep or insomnia in humans returned reviews, animal studies and one diet study, and no trial that gave people apigenin and measured their sleep.
The sedative-like effects are from mice and rats. Reviews say apigenin induces sedative effects in these animals and reduces anxiety-like and depression-like behavior in rodent models. That is animal research.
Human evidence is about chamomile, which contains apigenin among other compounds. Two meta-analyses of chamomile found some improvement in sleep quality with weak or mixed results on other sleep measures, and a trial in people with chronic insomnia found no significant difference from placebo. The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says there is very little information on chamomile for insomnia.
A large diet study found an association. A cohort of 1,936 Italian adults showed an association between dietary apigenin intake and sleep quality. That does not show cause.
Some of the writing about apigenin and sleep comes from a company. One review that ties apigenin to sleep and aging was written by employees of Tally Health, which also funded it.

What Apigenin Is and How It Might Work

A 2024 review says that in animal models apigenin positively affects sleep and longevity: it induces sedative effects in mice and rats, and it inhibits CD38, a protein that consumes the coenzyme NAD+, and NAD+ levels can be raised in mice with apigenin. It says apigenin’s effects extend to several targets, including GABA and inflammatory pathways, and notes that human studies used chamomile extract. The review’s authors are employees of Tally Health, which funded the publication fee. We did not check what the company sells (Kramer and Johnson, 2024).

A 2026 systematic review of 21 rodent studies found that apigenin reduced depression-like and anxiety-like behavior across models, and that it showed a favorable safety profile in all the included studies, even at high doses. The authors say it warrants further translational investigation (Wang and Shi, 2026). A 2026 mouse study found that apigenin combined with magnesium lengthened sleep more than either alone, by 44% in normal mice (Wong et al., 2026). These are results in rodents, and the doses cannot be read across to people.

What the Human Research Shows

Diet. A cohort study of 1,936 adults in southern Italy used food questionnaires to estimate their intake of (poly)phenols and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to measure sleep. Among individual flavonoids, higher intake of naringenin and apigenin was associated with sleep quality. The association was stronger in normal-weight people, and in the overweight and obese group no class of (poly)phenol was associated with sleep quality. The authors conclude that a higher intake of certain (poly)phenols may be associated with better sleep quality. It is a study of food, not supplements, and it shows an association (Godos et al., 2020).

Chamomile trials. Chamomile extract is the form used in the human studies we found. It has many other compounds besides apigenin, so a result for chamomile is not a result for apigenin.

A 2024 systematic review of 10 studies (772 participants) found a lower Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score with chamomile (weighted mean difference -1.88, 95% CI -3.46 to -0.31), with very high heterogeneity (I² 88.4%, 5 studies). Sleep onset or ease of falling asleep improved in three of four studies, and awakenings improved in two of three. Sleep efficiency did not change in two studies and worsened in one, and daytime functioning did not change. Only one study tested the purity or potency of the products. The authors report no conflicts (Kazemi et al., 2024).
A 2019 systematic review of 12 randomized trials found better sleep quality with chamomile (standardized mean difference -0.73, 95% CI -1.23 to -0.23). Only one trial looked at insomnia, and it found no significant change in insomnia severity. The authors say larger trials are needed (Hieu et al., 2019).
A 2011 pilot trial in 34 adults with chronic primary insomnia gave 270 mg of a standardized chamomile extract twice a day or a placebo for 28 days. There were no significant differences in any sleep diary measure, and total sleep time favored placebo with a moderate effect size. The authors saw modest advantages in daytime functioning that did not reach significance. The trial had NIH funding (Zick et al., 2011).
The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, last updated in November 2024, says studies of chamomile for many conditions have not produced enough reliable evidence to rate its usefulness, and that there is very little information on chamomile for insomnia. It cites a 2019 review that found one insomnia study, with no benefit (NCCIH).

One Product’s Claim

The sales page for Yu Sleep, a liquid supplement, says of apigenin: “Called ‘nature’s gentle sedative’, helps reduce the time it takes to fall asleep while promoting less time tossing and turning.” We read it on September 19, 2026. That is the seller’s wording, not ours.

We found no human trial that gave people apigenin and measured how long they took to fall asleep. In the chamomile studies, time to fall asleep improved in three of four studies in the 2024 review, and the 2011 pilot found no significant difference in sleep latency. None of the abstracts we read reports how much apigenin the chamomile products contained. The “sedative” label comes from rodent studies. Our legitimacy guide found that none of the 17 studies indexed in PubMed among the 20 on the sales page mentions apigenin.

Doses and Forms

No established dose for apigenin. We found no human dose-finding study.
270 mg of a standardized chamomile extract, twice a day for 28 days, in the 2011 pilot. The abstract does not say how much apigenin that contained.
Products differ. The chamomile products in the trials were not the same, and the 2024 review notes that only one study tested product purity or potency.

Safety

For apigenin on its own, we did not find an NIH fact sheet. The 2026 systematic review found a favorable safety profile in rodent studies, which does not tell us about people.
For chamomile, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says it is likely safe in the amounts found in teas and foods and possibly safe for short-term medicinal use by adults, with uncommon side effects that may include nausea, dizziness and allergic reactions, including severe ones. People allergic to ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds or daisies are more likely to react. Chamomile might have some estrogen-like effects. It may reduce the effects of birth control pills, and it might worsen conditions that are sensitive to estrogen. Interactions with some drugs metabolized by the liver and with warfarin have been reported, and there are theoretical reasons to suspect interactions with sedatives. Little is known about safety in pregnancy or while breastfeeding (NCCIH). Those points are about chamomile, and apigenin on its own is not chamomile.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health also says dietary supplements may interact with your medications or pose risks if you have certain medical problems or are going to have surgery, and that many have not been tested in pregnant women, nursing mothers or children (NCCIH, last updated January 2019).

What We Do Not Know

Whether apigenin on its own helps sleep in people. We found no trial.
How much apigenin the chamomile trials gave, and so whether their results say anything about a supplement of the compound.
Whether the animal effects carry over to people at doses a supplement can deliver.
Whether apigenin adds anything to magnesium. The only combination study we found was in mice.
Long-term safety in people.

Questions

Does apigenin help you sleep?

We found no human trial of apigenin on its own. Animal studies report sedative-like effects, a large diet study found an association with sleep quality, and chamomile trials show mixed results.

Is apigenin the same as chamomile?

No. Apigenin is one compound found in chamomile, and a chamomile extract has many others. Chamomile trials do not tell us what apigenin alone does.

How much apigenin should I take?

We cannot give a dose, and we found no human study that set one. Ask a healthcare provider, especially if you take medication.

Is apigenin safe?

Rodent studies found a favorable safety profile, and we did not find an NIH fact sheet on apigenin itself. For chamomile, NCCIH lists allergic reactions and possible drug interactions. Ask a healthcare provider before taking it.

Sources Cited in This Guide

Kramer DJ, Johnson AA. “Apigenin: a natural molecule at the intersection of sleep and aging.” Front Nutr. 2024. Read September 19, 2026 (abstract and conflict statement). PMID 38476603
Wang J, Shi K. “Apigenin for Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review of Preclinical Studies.” Iran J Pharm Res. 2026. Read September 19, 2026 (abstract). PMID 42488186
Wong WY, Chan BD, Zhou H, et al. “Synergistic sleep-promoting effects of magnesium and apigenin in normal and insomnia mouse models.” Food Funct. 2026. Read September 19, 2026 (abstract). PMID 41701207
Godos J, Ferri R, Castellano S, et al. “Specific Dietary (Poly)phenols Are Associated with Sleep Quality in a Cohort of Italian Adults.” Nutrients. 2020. Read September 19, 2026 (abstract). PMID 32357534
Kazemi A, Shojaei-Zarghani S, Eskandarzadeh P, et al. “Effects of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.” Complement Ther Med. 2024. Read September 19, 2026 (abstract). PMID 39106912
Hieu TH, Dibas M, Surya Dila KA, et al. “Therapeutic efficacy and safety of chamomile for state anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, and sleep quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials and quasi-randomized trials.” Phytother Res. 2019. Read September 19, 2026 (abstract). PMID 31006899
Zick SM, Wright BD, Sen A, et al. “Preliminary examination of the efficacy and safety of a standardized chamomile extract for chronic primary insomnia: a randomized placebo-controlled pilot study.” BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011. Read September 19, 2026 (abstract). PMID 21939549
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH. “Chamomile.” Last updated November 2024. Read September 19, 2026. NCCIH
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH. “Using Dietary Supplements Wisely.” Last updated January 2019. Read September 19, 2026. NCCIH
Yu Sleep sales page, getyusleep.com. Read September 19, 2026. Cited only for the seller’s own wording; not used as a source for any claim.

This guide is for information and is not medical advice. Talk to a healthcare provider about medication, pregnancy, medical conditions and persistent sleep problems.