Anxiety disorders, also known as anxiety neurosis, are one of the most common mental illnesses. About one in four adults will suffer from some form of anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental illnesses affecting adolescents and adults. Over the years, a variety of medications have been developed and used to treat people with anxiety/depression; however, these “solutions” can also have a variety of adverse effects (including effects on your sexual health and ability to have sex). This can lead to discontinuing treatment and returning the patient to the state in which they started. Natural remedies for anxiety and depression have been around for centuries, and modern science has begun to uncover the mechanisms behind these ancient treatments. Today, we're looking at one of the most common tranquilizers on the market, focusing on its key active ingredients - chamomile and apigenin.

 

Chamomile for Anxiety and Depression

 

Chamomile is one of the world's most popular herbs and can be found in the pharmacopoeias of 26 countries. Traditionally, it is brewed as an herbal tea to help relieve feelings of stress and set the stage for a peaceful night's rest.

 

Various extracts of this herb have also been used in relaxation supplements and sleep aids for quite some time. Previous studies have suggested that the use of chamomile may help reduce worry and depression. At the heart of chamomile's calming effects are a range of bioactive compounds, including flavonoids with anxiolytic and anxiolytic properties. One in particular has skyrocketed in popularity and use in the industry, and the alkaloid I'm referring to is apigenin.

 

What is apigenin?

 

Apigenin is a flavonoid with a similar structure to other well known plant bioactives including quercetin, lignans and kaempferol. It is found primarily in celery, parsley and chamomile, but can also be synthesized in the body from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. Researchers have demonstrated that apigenin has a wide range of noteworthy effects, including: antioxidant anti-inflammatory (down-regulates IL-1β and TNF-α and reduces COX-2 and iNOS expression) antihyperglycemic anti-apoptotic effects lowers blood pressure chemoprevention Despite the structural similarities, apigenin offers some rather interesting benefits in terms of mood, mental health and cognitive function.

 

 

Sedative properties of apigenin

 

Apigenin exerts its sedative effects because of its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a highly selective, semi-permeable membrane that provides neuroprotection by allowing certain compounds to enter while restricting others. Studies have shown that apigenin has a greater ability to cross the blood-brain barrier than other popular flavonoids/antioxidants, including quercetin, rutin, and hesperidin. The only two flavonoids superior to apigenin (as found in this study) are goldfinch isoflavones (a phytoestrogen found in soybeans) and isoglycyrrhizin (a component of licorice). [10] After crossing the blood-brain barrier, apigenin has an affinity for the GABA A receptor. GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter, and the GABA A receptor is a major target for drugs used to treat anxiety and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Researchers also believe that apigenin may improve mood and reduce anxiety by modulating dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. In addition, apigenin inhibits MAO-A and MAO-B - enzymes that metabolize certain neurotransmitters, including dopamine. Finally, studies have shown that apigenin stimulates the uptake of L-tyrosine, a precursor to dopamine and norepinephrine.

 

 

What is the recommended dose of apigenin?

 

There is a serious lack of research on direct apigenin supplementation in humans. That said, apigenin has low toxicity and is considered safe by researchers, even when consumed in larger amounts than are common in dietary supplements. When it comes to dietary supplements, typical doses of apigenin in most products range from 25-50 mg. Chamomile supplements have been found to reduce anxiety, using chamomile extracts standardized to contain 1.2% apigenin. Participants in these studies received 100-250 mg of chamomile extract (standardized to 1.2% apigenin), which produced 13.2-18 mg of apigenin. Earlier studies in mice initially documented the anxiolytic effects of apigenin, but higher doses (10-100 mg/kg) were used. To convert the mouse dose to the human equivalent, divide by 12.3 and multiply by your body weight in kilograms. To convert to a human equivalent dose for an 80 kg male (176 lbs), you would need to consume 65-130 mg. Keep in mind that at the upper end of the dose range (30-100 mg/kg in mice), apigenin can have a strong sedative effect. Is apigenin safe? Apigenin has low toxicity and both apigenin and chamomile are considered safe, even for long-term consumption.

 

 

Bioavailability issues

 

Apigenin is a Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) Class II substance, which means it has very low solubility in water and is highly permeable. This essentially means that apigenin has low bioavailability due to poor solubility in water, but it is readily absorbed from the intestinal tract. Therefore, various delivery enhancement technologies (phytosomes, liposomes, polymer micelles, nanosuspensions, etc.) may be a better option than isolated apigenin. That said, few (if any) products on the market contain “enhanced” forms of apigenin. Is Apigenin worth it?

Is Apigenin worth it?

 

Like many supplements, apigenin is (mechanistically) very interesting, lacks adequate human research, and is over-hyped by many outlets. Nonetheless, it does have a high safety profile and is worth trying. When introducing any new supplement into your regimen, keep everything else the same (diet, exercise, daily supplement intake, etc.) to eliminate as many variables as possible, buy from a reputable supplier, and start at the lower end of the dose range.

 

Buy chamomile extract in wholesale from HZL Biotech. Request a sample for bulk supply of our quality chamomile powder.