Comparison
Melatonin vs Apigenin
Melatonin
Pineal hormone regulating circadian rhythm. Low doses (0.3-1mg) often outperform higher doses for sleep.
Apigenin
Flavonoid found in chamomile, parsley, and celery. Popularized by Dr. Andrew Huberman for sleep and CD38 inhibition.
| Field | Melatonin | Apigenin |
|---|---|---|
| Category | neuroprotective | neuroprotective |
| Dose range | 0.3–3mg | 50–100mg |
| Half-life | 1h | — |
| Onset | 30min | — |
| Evidence | EVIDENCEA | EVIDENCEB |
| Safety | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Legal (US) | USOTC | USOTC |
| PubMed refs | 28000 | 400 |
The comparison in plain English
Auto-generated from dataMelatonin and Apigenin are both in the neuroprotective category respectively. Melatonin Pineal hormone regulating circadian rhythm. Apigenin Flavonoid found in chamomile, parsley, and celery.
Bottom line
Melatonin (evidence A, safety 5/5) has a weaker evidence base than Apigenin (evidence B, safety 5/5). Melatonin has the slightly cleaner safety profile. For users new to either, the higher-evidence option is the safer first try.
Choose Melatonin if
Melatonin is the better fit when your goal aligns with its mechanism (Endogenous hormone produced by the pineal gland in response to darkness, signalling the circadian sleep window) and the dose range (0.3–3mg) suits your protocol. Half-life is 1h.
Choose Apigenin if
Apigenin is the better fit when your goal aligns with its mechanism (Partial agonist at GABA-A receptors at the benzodiazepine binding site, producing mild anxiolytic and sleep-promoting effects without the dependence profile of pharmaceutical benzodiazepines) and the dose range (50–100mg) suits your protocol. Half-life is —h.