does apigenin, the chamomile compound, lower anxiety when taken as a supplement?
“also acts as a bit of a anxiety-lowering compound”
a host said on Huberman Lab, 2026-10-22, at 11:18. hear it in context →
first, the part that holds
apigenin is one of the main compounds in chamomile, and the trials do show a modest anxiety-lowering effect. in people with mild to moderate generalized anxiety disorder, a chamomile extract standardized to apigenin beat placebo, and the speaker's "a bit" fits how small that effect was.
what we found when we went and looked
we found no human trial of apigenin taken on its own for anxiety. the human evidence is for whole chamomile extract. in an 8-week placebo-controlled trial (57 people with mild to moderate generalized anxiety disorder; 220 mg capsules standardized to 1.2% apigenin, up to 5 a day), anxiety scores fell 53% on chamomile and 35% on placebo (p = 0.047), and none of the secondary measures reached significance. a later 26-week trial found people who stayed on chamomile kept lower symptoms, but it did not significantly cut relapse (hazard ratio 0.52, 95% CI 0.20-1.33). a 2019 meta-analysis found a small benefit in generalized anxiety disorder (about 1.4-1.8 points on the hamilton anxiety scale) and no significant effect on everyday state anxiety. so the effect is real but modest, and it was measured for the whole extract, not for apigenin as a stand-alone supplement.
assertion by assertion
| assertion | verdict | what the record says |
|---|---|---|
| apigenin is a chamomile derivative | confirmed | the chamomile trial capsules were standardized to 1.2% apigenin, and a 2024 review describes chamomile extract as roughly 0.8-1.2% apigenin by mass, with apigenin as a bioactive ingredient. apigenin is also found in other plants, so chamomile is one source, not the only one. [1][4] |
| apigenin taken as a supplement has an anxiety-lowering effect in humans | misattributed | the human anxiety data come from whole chamomile extract, not from isolated apigenin. the 2009 trial's authors say the extract's mode of action is unknown and that one or more of its flavonoids may be responsible. the 2024 review cites no trial of apigenin alone for anxiety or sleep, says it is hard to tell whether the extract's effects come from apigenin, other compounds or both, and calls for trials of apigenin on its own. [1][4] |
| chamomile extract lowers anxiety in people with generalized anxiety disorder, modestly ('a bit') | confirmed | 8-week trial, n=57: anxiety scores fell 52.97% on chamomile and 34.92% on placebo (p=0.047). response rates were 57% vs 38% (not significant), and the self-rated anxiety, well-being and clinician global ratings were not significant. the 26-week continuation trial (93 responders) found significantly lower symptoms on chamomile (p=0.0032) but no significant reduction in relapse (15.2% vs 25.5%; HR 0.52, 95% CI 0.20-1.33). the meta-analysis found mean differences of -1.43 at 2 weeks and -1.79 at 4 weeks on the hamilton scale. this is a real but small effect, which matches 'a bit'. [1][2][3] |
| the effect extends to everyday anxiety, not just a diagnosed anxiety disorder | overstated | pooling three randomized trials of state anxiety found no significant difference (SMD -0.15, 95% CI -0.46 to 0.16, p=0.42). the meta-analysis authors say there is little evidence for an effect on anxiety outside generalized anxiety disorder. the point estimate leans toward benefit, but the confidence interval includes no effect. [3] |
both directions
for the speaker: two placebo-controlled trials of a chamomile extract standardized to apigenin found lower anxiety scores in generalized anxiety disorder than placebo. a meta-analysis of randomized trials pooled a significant improvement on the hamilton anxiety scale at 2 and 4 weeks. adverse events were mild and reported in only three of twelve trials. apigenin binds the benzodiazepine site of the GABA-A receptor in lab work, which the trial authors cite as a plausible mechanism. the speaker's own hedge, "a bit", fits the small size of the measured effect.
against: no trial we found tested apigenin by itself in humans for anxiety. the claim moves a whole-extract result onto a single compound. the extract trials only gave small amounts of apigenin: at 1.2% standardization, the 2009 trial's top dose of 1,100 mg of extract a day works out to about 13 mg of apigenin. the 2024 review reports that only about 5-10% of swallowed apigenin is absorbed in the small intestine. in the main trial, the primary outcome only just reached significance (p=0.047), and every secondary outcome, including the patients' own anxiety ratings, missed significance. the long-term trial missed its primary endpoint, relapse. pooled data show no significant effect on everyday state anxiety.
what this cannot say
the trials are small (57 and 93 randomized participants), come largely from one research program, and studied mild to moderate generalized anxiety disorder, so they cannot speak to other anxiety conditions or to healthy people taking a nightly supplement. no trial is missing a placebo arm, but expectancy effects were large in this research line. the 2024 apigenin review was written and funded entirely by employees of a supplement-adjacent health company. we searched pubmed and pmc and did not find a human trial of isolated apigenin for anxiety. that is not proof none exists, especially unregistered or non-english work. we could not open the full text of the meta-analysis, only its abstract.
sources, each one fetched and read
- randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of oral matricaria recutita (chamomile) extract therapy of generalized anxiety disorder. journal of clinical psychopharmacology, 2009. PMID 19593179, NCT00645983 What we read there: 57 randomized (28 chamomile, 29 placebo); 220 mg capsules standardized to 1.2% apigenin, up to 5 a day, for 8 weeks. HAM-A fell 52.97% vs 34.92% (p=0.047). responders 57.13% vs 37.93% (p=0.146). BAI p=0.411, PGWB p=0.170, CGI-S p=0.187. mode of action unknown; one or more flavonoid constituents may produce anxiolytic activity. Fetched 2026-10-31 (HTTP 200). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3600416/
- long-term chamomile (matricaria chamomilla l.) treatment for generalized anxiety disorder: a randomized clinical trial. phytomedicine, 2016. PMID 27912875 What we read there: 179 enrolled in 12-week open-label phase of 1,500 mg/day extract; 93 responders randomized to chamomile (46) or placebo (47) for 26 weeks. relapse 7/46 vs 12/47; HR 0.52 (95% CI 0.20-1.33), p=0.16. chamomile kept GAD symptoms significantly lower (p=0.0032) but did not significantly reduce relapse. Fetched 2026-10-31 (HTTP 200). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27912875/
- therapeutic efficacy and safety of chamomile for state anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, and sleep quality: systematic review and meta-analysis. phytotherapy research, 2019;33(6):1604-1615. PMID 31006899 What we read there: 12 RCTs. state anxiety (3 RCTs): SMD -0.15, 95% CI -0.46 to 0.16, p=0.4214. GAD on HAM-A: MD -1.43 (95% CI -2.47 to -0.39) at 2 weeks, MD -1.79 (95% CI -3.14 to -0.43) at 4 weeks. 'little evidence is there to show its effect on anxiety and insomnia.' Fetched 2026-10-31 (HTTP 200). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31006899/
- apigenin: a natural molecule at the intersection of sleep and aging. review, PMC10929570 What we read there: chamomile extract 'is often about 1% apigenin by mass (0.8–1.2%)'. 'it is difficult to be certain whether the effects observed from chamomile extract in these studies are solely due to apigenin, other components of chamomile, or a combination of both.' more studies are needed on apigenin 'on its own'. 5–10% of ingested apigenin is absorbed in the small intestine. authors are employees of, and the work was funded solely by, a health company. Fetched 2026-10-31 (HTTP 200). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10929570/
speakers are described by role, not named. one sentence is quoted under fair use, with attribution and a link to the original at the timestamp; we do not re-host audio or video. nothing on this page is a reason to start, stop or change a medication. if you have the file behind anything marked unverifiable, the research board is where people can answer. adam