Foods High in Apigenin: Best Natural Sources

Parsley is the standout food source of apigenin. Chamomile and celery are also important, while smaller amounts or apigenin glycosides occur across herbs, vegetables, fruits and grains. The difficult part is that “apigenin content” depends on whether a database reports the free aglycone, glycosides expressed as apigenin equivalents, fresh weight or dried weight.

That is why food lists online often disagree by an order of magnitude. This guide uses reported values as source-comparison data, not as a promise that every serving delivers an exact milligram amount.

Foods high in apigenin: quick ranking

Why parsley is the richest commonly cited source

Parsley repeatedly appears at the top of apigenin food databases. Reviews compiling USDA and Phenol-Explorer data have reported approximately 215 mg/100 g for fresh parsley and much higher values for dried parsley because water removal concentrates the plant material.

Those numbers do not mean a garnish delivers hundreds of milligrams. A normal culinary serving weighs only a fraction of 100 g. Dried parsley looks spectacular per 100 g, but most people use it by the teaspoon.

How much apigenin is in a serving of parsley?

Serving-size math is more useful than headline database numbers. If fresh parsley contains roughly 215 mg/100 g, then 10 g would theoretically contain around 21.5 mg of database-measured apigenin equivalents. Actual exposure varies with cultivar, storage, preparation and analytical method.

Human research is more informative than arithmetic alone. Controlled parsley-feeding studies detected apigenin metabolites after consumption, confirming that parsley-derived apigenin compounds are absorbed and metabolized in people.

Chamomile: famous source, variable cup

Chamomile is the source most associated with relaxation. Dried flowers contain substantial apigenin-related flavonoids, especially apigenin glycosides. But a cup of tea cannot be converted reliably into “X mg apigenin” without knowing the flower mass, cultivar, extraction time, water temperature and analytical method.

Human ADME work found measurable apigenin metabolites after chamomile tea, demonstrating exposure. That is stronger evidence than guessing a universal mg-per-cup value.

For the tea-specific evidence, see Apigenin in Chamomile.

Celery and celery seed

Celery belongs to the same Apiaceae family that gives apigenin its name. Celery seeds can be particularly concentrated in apigenin glycosides, while leaves and stalks contain lower but still meaningful amounts. Reported values vary substantially by variety and plant part.

Other dietary sources

Apigenin or its glycosides have also been measured in artichoke, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme, kumquat, citrus, garlic, peppers, some grains and other plants. These foods are nutritionally useful, but most are not practical ways to reproduce a concentrated supplement dose.

Fresh vs dried foods

Dried herbs almost always look dramatically richer per 100 g because water has been removed. This is a classic nutrition-data trap. Comparing 100 g dried parsley with 100 g fresh celery is chemically valid but nutritionally misleading because nobody consumes those amounts the same way.

A better comparison asks: how much do I actually eat?

Apigenin aglycone vs glycosides

In plants, apigenin is frequently attached to sugars as O-glycosides or C-glycosides. This matters because the sugar group changes absorption and metabolism. Human pharmacokinetic research found different metabolite profiles and urinary recovery after isolated apigenin, parsley glycosides and chamomile tea.

So “50 mg of apigenin from a supplement” is not automatically equivalent to “50 mg of apigenin compounds from food.” See Apigenin Bioavailability.

Can you get 50 mg of apigenin from food?

It is theoretically possible to consume substantial dietary apigenin through parsley-rich meals, but reproducing a precise 50 mg isolated-apigenin capsule dose with food is not straightforward. Database values vary and food provides different chemical forms.

If the goal is diet quality, eat the food. If the goal is a precise, repeatable supplemental amount, a clearly labeled isolated product is more predictable.

Can chamomile tea replace an apigenin supplement?

Not dose-for-dose. Chamomile is a whole botanical with many compounds and variable extraction. That may be an advantage if you want the traditional beverage and its broader phytochemistry, but it is a disadvantage if you want a reproducible isolated-apigenin amount.

Does cooking destroy apigenin?

Processing can alter flavone content. Heat, storage, drying and food matrix can change measurable apigenin and its glycosides. The direction and magnitude depend on the food and method, so there is no universal “cooking destroys X%” rule.

Food vs supplement: which is better?

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Bottom line

Parsley is the most important culinary source of apigenin, with chamomile and celery following. But food values are highly method-dependent, serving sizes matter, and plant glycosides are not pharmacokinetically identical to isolated apigenin.

For the human absorption studies and source papers, visit our Apigenin Research Data Center.