Apigenin

What is Apigenin?

Apigenin is a flavonoid, which is a type of polyphenol with disease-fighting properties. They are found in a variety of plants, most notably chamomile, parsley, celery, and citrus peels and are the reason plant foods have various colours and flavours (2). Optiventure uses a highly purified 98% apigenin extract, delivering 50mg of active compound per capsule.

Research indicates that apigenin has a range of effects on human physiology, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and sleep-supportive functions (1). Most of the research related to apigenin uses animals with most human studies using chamomile extract to consider if promising effects will translate to humans (2). It has gained recent popularity due to its wide-ranging benefits, low toxicity risk, and anti-ageing and sleep-enhancing effects (2,8).

Why Do Outdoor Adventurers Need Apigenin?

Stress isn’t just psychological. Hiking, cold exposure, altitude, dehydration, and oxidative load all create physical stress. Apigenin helps both your brain and your body cope more gracefully with the rigours of the outdoors. 

Apigenin is especially useful for:

• Reducing anxiety and enhancing calm focus via modulation of GABA-A receptors (3)
• Increasing ATP production for better energy and reducing oxidative stress (4)
• Reducing inflammatory cytokines and free radical load (5)
• Improving sleep onset and quality, particularly when taken in the evening (6)

It’s got anti-stress, anti-fatigue, and anti-grump properties, ideal for ensuring you don’t drive yourself or your fellow hikers nuts!

Dietary Sources of Apigenin?

Apigenin is found in chamomile tea, celery, parsley, oregano, and artichokes. But most people consume only a few milligrams per day, far below the therapeutic doses shown to be effective in studies (7).

On the trail, chamomile tea is fairly easy to take (but you’d need a lot of it - and you certainly don’t want to be waking up at night to pee), and you’re unlikely to be munching parsley sprigs. That’s why a concentrated, standardised dose makes sense.

What’s the Best Form of Apigenin For Hikers?

• Whole herb sources: Low potency, hard to standardise, and fresh herbs are hard to come by on the trail
• Low-purity extracts: Variable in composition
• 98% apigenin isolate: Clean, potent, and reliably effective

Optiventure uses 98% apigenin for consistent action and maximum benefit in a small daily dose.

Key Information About Apigenin

Deficiency Stats

Apigenin isn’t an essential nutrient, but modern diets are extremely low in polyphenols, even more so during hiking trips where fresh herbs are scarce. Supplementing will help compensate for the oxidative and inflammatory demands of long days outdoors and give you a performance boost otherwise incredibly difficult to produce.

Why Optiventure Has 50mg of Apigenin

50mg of purified apigenin hits the sweet spot. It’s enough to:

• Reduce stress and support cognitive calm
• Aid post-hike sleep and recovery
• Support mitochondrial health and fatigue resistance

Whether it’s summit nerves, physical stress, or general trail tension, apigenin will help offset stress you didn’t know you had. 

References

1. Salehi, B., Venditti, A., Sharifi-Rad, M., et al. (2019). The therapeutic potential of apigenin. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(6), 1305. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20061305
2. Kramer, D. J., & Johnson, A. A. (2024). Apigenin: A natural molecule at the intersection of sleep and aging. Frontiers in Nutrition, 11, Article 1359176. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1359176
3. Viola, H., Wasowski, C., Levi de Stein, M., Wolfman, C., Silveira, R., Dajas, F., Medina, J. H., & Paladini, A. C. (1995). Apigenin, a component of Matricaria recutita flowers, is a central benzodiazepine receptor-ligand with anxiolytic effects. Planta Medica, 61(3), 213–216. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2006-958058
4. Wang, D., Yang, Y., Zou, X., Zhang, J., Zheng, Z., & Wang, Z. (2020). Antioxidant apigenin relieves age-related muscle atrophy by inhibiting oxidative stress and hyperactive mitophagy and apoptosis in skeletal muscle of mice. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 75(11), 2081–2088. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glaa214
5. Shukla, S., & Gupta, S. (2010). Apigenin: A promising molecule for cancer prevention. Pharmaceutical Research, 27(6), 962–978. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-010-0089-7
6. Chang, S.-M., & Chen, C.-H. (2016). Effects of an intervention with drinking chamomile tea on sleep quality and depression in sleep-disturbed postnatal women: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(2), 306-315. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.12836
7. Manach, C., Williamson, G., Morand, C., Scalbert, A., & Rémésy, C. (2005). Bioavailability and bioefficacy of polyphenols in humans. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 81(1), 230S–242S. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/81.1.230S
8. Wang, M., Firrman, J., Liu, L., & Yam, K. (2019). A review on flavonoid apigenin: Dietary intake, ADME, antimicrobial effects, and interactions with human gut microbiota. BioMed Research International, 2019, Article ID 7010467.https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/7010467
9. Cao, J., Zhang, Y., Chen, W., & Zhao, X. (2017). The relationship between fasting plasma concentrations of selected flavonoids and their ordinary dietary intake. Nutrients, 9(3), 197. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9030197
10. Gates, M. A., Tworoger, S. S., Hecht, J. L., de Vivo, I., Rosner, B., & Hankinson, S. E. (2007). A prospective study of dietary flavonoid intake and incidence of epithelial ovarian cancer. International Journal of Cancer, 121(10), 2225–2232. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.22790
11. Somerset, S. M., & Johannot, L. (2008). Dietary flavonoid sources in Australian adults. Nutrition and Cancer, 60(4), 442–449. https://doi.org/10.1080/01635580802143836