What Is Apigenin? 5 Health Benefits
Most individuals drink chamomile tea to reduce stress and ease their anxiety. In addition, other plant- and herb-based teas offer the same benefits along with several others, like antioxidant properties.
An important nutrient found in chamomile tea is called apigenin, which is why you get anxiety-reducing effects. You can consume this compound through herbs, fruits, vegetables, and even apigenin supplement.
In this article, we’ll shed light on apigenin and its 5 amazing health benefits that you can take advantage of.
What Is Apigenin?
Apigenin is a kind of flavonoid, a compound that is naturally found in plant tissues. Flavonoids help plants protect themselves from harsh UV rays and infections. They also facilitate plants in maintaining their metabolism.
In ancient history, it has been used to treat inflammation and anxiety. Moreover, it boasts anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antibacterial, antiparasitic, and antiviral properties.
Apigenin is found in several herbs, fruits, and vegetables such as celery, parsley, basil, oranges, onions, thyme, cilantro, spearmint, tea, wheat sprouts, chamomile, grapefruits, and kumquats.
What Are the Health Benefits of Apigenin?
1. Apigenin for Sleep
Insomnia can cause several health issues in individuals down the road and can also adversely affect their daily life. Chamomile flower extract can help individuals, who don’t have insomnia due to a medical condition or medication, sleep better at night.
Although apigenin doesn’t significantly help improve sleep at night, it sure does improve your daytime functioning to help you perform better in your daily life activities.
2. Apigenin for Skin
Since apigenin has significant antioxidant properties, it helps promote healthy aging and boosts overall skin health. Topical apigenin can also be useful for combating acne as well as increasing skin cell growth.
Moreover, apigenin cream may also help boost skin elasticity and density while reducing the damage caused by UV rays and minimizing the length of wrinkles.
3. Apigenin for Anxiety and Depression
Apigenin can also help individuals manage the symptoms of anxiety and depression since it has the ability to reach the central nervous system. As chamomile extract already has calming effects, which can also improve sleep to some extent, it can also soothe anxiety.
In addition, apigenin can also reduce the stress hormones (cortisol) levels in the body, which contribute to depression, by blocking the enzyme that produces cortisol.
4. Apigenin for Blood Sugar
Some people may struggle with their bodies regulating sugar, which might be caused due to age or other factors like type 2 diabetes. What’s great is that apigenin has the ability to increase insulin levels to help regulate blood glucose levels and lower blood sugar.
Furthermore, your blood vessels may be damaged due to diabetes. To prevent this, apigenin helps boost nitric oxide levels in the cells that are found in the walls of the vascular system.
5. Apigenin for Cancer
Researchers think that apigenin may have anti-cancer abilities, but further research needs to be done. Apigenin may restrict cancer cells from proliferating and boost the immune system to facilitate the body in fighting cancer cells.
If scientists ever recommend apigenin for cancer treatment, it may be suggested along with chemotherapy and radiation since apigenin is moderately effective in normal human doses.