Pure apigenin for sleep - it's great stuff

[Mary]

I recently discovered that apigenin is available on its own as a supplement: https://www.iherb.com/pr/vitamatic-apigenin-50-mg-120-capsules/126570

I already knew that a chamomile product with standardized apigenin level was a little helpful with sleep - regular chamomile never did anything for me. But when I started taking pure apigenin, I found it to be rather powerful - it noticeably helps with sleep.

Like all herbs, however, I'll develop a tolerance to it in 10-14 days. So I currently have two bundles of herbal supplements I take for sleep, which I trade off every 10 - 14 days. I also have a stack of amino acids and niacin which I don't develop a tolerance to, and take every night.

So here's what I take - it's a lot but it works. I think the niacin especially helps with sleep onset - I've recommended it to other people who notice the same thing. Also, I take unisom as needed - it's quite powerful, I recommend starting with 1/4 or 1/2 tablet max - but again I'll develop a tolerance so try to use it sparingly. benadryl never helped me and just makes me feel yucky.

Every night:

Niacin (the kind that makes you flush) 600 mg. before bed, 200 mg. more middle of the night
inositol - 1000 mg before bed, 1000 mg more middle of the night
6 mg. melatonin (cheap brand, may get by with less with better product), 3 mg. middle of the night
1000 mg. l-theanine before bed, 1000-2000 mg middle of the night
1000 mg. n-acetyl-glutamine before bed, 1000 mg middle of the night
1000 mg glycine before bed, 1000 mg middle of the night
100 mg. 5-htp

Rotate every 10 - 14 days:
50 mg. apigenin before bed, 50 mg. more middle of the night
2 caps valerian/chamomile/hops combo (this may not do anything, but it's cheap), 2 more caps middle of the night

Rotate with above every 10 - 14 days
Magnolia bark WITH COCONUT OIL - 1/4 tsp of this product used to be potent - now it takes about 1-1/2 tsp to have any effect, taken with coconut oil, before bed, same again middle of the night
Shui de an, 2 caps before bed, 2 more middle of the night

I also have to avoid anything with MSG in any of its iterations at dinner (https://www.truthinlabeling.org/names.html)

Every once in awhile I get insomnia that nothing will touch and I've learned that it's very often my magnesium/calcium ratio has gotten out of whack and I'll have to stop my calcium for awhile until I start getting more insomnia, which will mean it's time to restart it. Yeah, it's fun trying to figure this all out!

Also, last but not least, high cortisol at night can also cause severe insomnia - I've dealt with this in the past and Seriphos has worked like a miracle to help normalize my cortisol levels.

 

[heapsreal]

apigenin i just popped in my iherb cart. I will keep it in mind if I need it. As I said in my thread, the dayvigo is currently going well, but good to have some effective herbal sleep aids that work.
I was using mulungu, a herbal that I put in capsules myself. I was taking 2 x500mg capsules and it improved my sleep quality significantly but not really the quantity of sleep time. I think its usually used as a tea, but I just find it easier to use in a capsule and if it's like most herbal teas I'm sure it tastes terrible lol.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I need to find something to help my husband (post stroke) as he is not sleeping well at night. (probably in part because he sleeps much of the day).

wonder if this might be a good thing for him to try.

 

[Mary]

@Rufous McKinney - here's google AI on apigenen and stroke, apparently a good thing:

https://www.google.com/search?q=api...QuNi4yuAeJDcIHBzAuMy44LjHIBzc&sclient=gws-wiz

and some more research:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11091408/

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1553081/full

Of course AI says "more research is needed" and every thing I've read about non-pharmaceutical interventions about anything says "more research is needed" because the research is not being and will not be done as no one is going to make a ton of money researching substances which can't be patented.

Inositol is also a nice thing to take for calming, can help with sleep and just calm down anxiety.

This study says that B6 and inositol may help with stroke damage:

https://cdn.nutrition.org/article/S2475-2991(25)02397-2/fulltext

I don't know if your husband had an ischemic stroke and I also don't know if these would be effective a few years post-stroke or if they need to be taken soon after. And I'm sure the answer would be, "more research is needed". I use myself as a guinea pig all the time but I know it's different dealing with someone else's life and health.

 

[Mary]

@Rufous McKinney - I do think apigenin would be a very safe substance to try, again from AI:

https://www.google.com/search?q=api...hsgcDMi42uAfbB8IHBTItNy4xyAct&sclient=gws-wiz

For myself, I am so glad it has been isolated into a supplement!

 

[Rufous McKinney]

here's google AI on apigenen and stroke, apparently a good thing:

thank you for this very useful information....

Now I cannot quite remember what type of stroke he had. I'll check on that.

apigenin

this sounds like a rather promising substance, and maybe I should be trying it myself.

For myself, I am so glad it has been isolated into a supplement!

Do you have any opinion on Liposomal versions?

 

[Mary]

Do you have any opinion on Liposomal versions?

I don't. I'm still so surprised to see an apigenin supplement period, liposomal or not. My digestion works pretty well, and it's working better over all since I started taking betaine hcl with each meal. I was happily surprised to discover the chamomile with standardized apigenin by Swanson some months ago, which did help a little, I could tell, because usually chamomile does nothing for me. But when I found the straight apigenin, I was gobsmacked, as the Brits would say, and it really is effective for me (taken orally) for 10 - 14 days. My gut (no pun intended!) feeling is that it's probably one of the safest things one could try for sleep.

I'm guessing you would have to experiment to see if the liposomal version helped more etc.

 

[pamojja]

I get some apigenin from supplements, like from LEF's Cruciferous Vegetables extract (25 mg/cap). Finding out that dried parsley powder contains the most, about 45 mg/g, I kept up with consuming about half a gram parsley powder/d for 5 years (therefore a total of about 50 mg/d). However, this was for other benefits of apigenin, not for sleep.

Since apigenin is extracted by hot water infusion, for sleeping, one also could simply make a regular dried parsley tea before sleep. 3 g of parsley per cup would yield about 135 mg of apigenin at once.

This study tested the content of various herbal teas for luteolin and apigenin yield. But didn't test parsey with the highest apigenin content: Determination of Luteolin and Apigenin in Herbal Teas

 

[Mary]

Since apigenin is extracted by hot water infusion, for sleeping, one also could simply make a regular dried parsley tea before sleep. 3 g of parsley per cup would yield about 135 mg of apigenin at once.

I'm afraid that having to make an infusion every night is beyond me. I could do it once in awhile, perhaps. I can't even do the dishes at night because it very likely will be the straw which causes a crash the next day. But this is good to know and if I ever do get my health back, I might try this

 

[bad1080]

In vitro, apigenin binds competitively to the benzodiazepine site on GABAA receptors.[5]

from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apigenin

very interesting! since i noticed strong effects from drugs that bind there i am going to try this, most likely as parsley tea. gonna report back!

 

[heapsreal]

@Mary do you use or find Valerian supplements with standardised valerenic acid. I believe 4-8mg is a common dose used for sleep.

 

[Mary]

@Mary do you use or find Valerian supplements with standardised valerenic acid. I believe 4-8mg is a common dose used for sleep.

I've never heard of valerenic acid before - it never occurred to me to look for it in a product! I have used valerian root without much effect . . . but I just googled this, and found a Solaray product which is standardized to 0.8% valerenic acid, which is actually quite cheap. I'm going to give this a try -Thanks so much for the recommendation @heapsreal!

I did look up the dayvigo product you recommended but it's one of those which can cause "unusual sleep behaviors" - this cracks me up. This is what they call driving in your sleep or cooking, etc., while asleep - someone had to think that term up, trying to be as nonthreatening or non-disturbing as possible - they're not going to say you might find yourself driving your car while asleep! No, it's just an "unusual sleep behavior"

I'm paranoid about drugs in general, it seems if there's an odd (side) effect, it happens to me.

 

[perchance dreamer]

Valerian is one of the commonly used sleep supplements that really screw up my sleep. Lemon balm is another one I have to avoid. But both these supplements seem to help a lot of people.

 

[Wayne]

I'm paranoid about drugs in general, it seems if there's an odd (side) effect, it happens to me.

Hi @Mary -- Speaking of "odd" effect. I purchased some valerian root powder in bulk once. I opened it while sitting on the sofa, and one of our kitties was of course interested in sniffing what might be in there. Well, she took one sniff, promptly jumped off the sofa, ran straight toward our other kitty (who was just sitting minding his own business) and swatted him on top of his head. And he wasn't too happy about that! Anyway, I had never seen our kitty do anything remotely close to what she had done. And I never let her sniff valerian again!

 

[Mary]

 

[pamojja]

Well, she took one sniff, promptly jumped off the sofa,

Indeed, at least the Indian Valerian tablets I use, has a very unusual smell and taste. And here it indeed mentions TIKTA (Bitter), KATU (Pungent), KASAYA (Astringent) as it tastes. Though not jumping off, it does at times squinch my face.