In an earlier video, I presented data for apigenin’s ability to increase levels of NAD+. In addition to apigenin’s impact on NAD+, apigenin supplementation increases muscle mass, strength, and treadmill running distance in both young and old mice.
Video link for NAD+ is increased in response to apigenin: https://youtu.be/5-2YoGctcCk?list=UUT…
Paper links:
Apigenin enhances skeletal muscle hypertrophy and myoblast differentiation by regulating Prmt7: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29108…
Apigenin Ameliorates the Obesity‐Induced Skeletal Muscle Atrophy by Attenuating Mitochondrial Dysfunction in the Muscle of Obese Mice: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/a…
Antioxidant Apigenin Relieves Age-Related Muscle Atrophy by Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Hyperactive Mitophagy and Apoptosis in Skeletal Muscle of Mice: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32857…
Do you think that other natural product activators of nrf2 might exhibit similar effects?
I haven’t done a proper lit review for nrf2, so at the moment, I’m not sure.
I started to take an apigenin supplement but when I read some research showing an increased growth of tumors from it, I was hesitant to get it from such a concentrated source. Everyone seems to be recommending taking apigenin as a supplement so I was glad to see when Michael recommended getting it from parsley instead. There are probably other food nutrient factors in parsley that could possibly abrogate that tumor growth pathway. I have a history of cancer in my family, and some studies showed apigenin could paradoxically stimulate breast tumor growth as well as throat cancer. Apigenin inhibits tumors in vitro, but in vivo it stimulates growth. Maybe higher concentrations of apigenin as the aglycone (non-glycoside form) can be converted into a carcinogenic metabolites or more estrogenic compounds depending on the type of gut bacteria. Some people have a higher level of gut bacteria that can generate carcinogens. Here’s an excerpt from the study: though apigenin and kaempferol treatment decreased viability of cells in vitro, cell-type-dependent differences in responsiveness were observed. In vivo apigenin treatment significantly increased the tumor size of FaDu explants. Results obtained using kaempferol were similar. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24439916/
Swanson HI, Choi EY, Helton WB, Gairola CG, Valentino J. Impact of apigenin and kaempferol on human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2014 Feb;117(2):214-20. doi: 10.1016/j.oooo.2013.10.012. Epub 2013 Nov 5. PMID: 24439916; PMCID: PMC3983952.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10549-006-9191-2
I wasn’t aware of the apigenin-cancer link (thanks for that!), and that’s more of a reason, as you mentioned, to minimize risk by getting it from whole foods, including fresh parsley.