Tier 4 — mechanistic

Synergistic sleep-promoting effects of magnesium and apigenin in normal and insomnia mouse models

Wing-Yan Wong, Brandon Dow Chan, Hengshen Zhou, Tsz Chun Leung, William Chi-Shing Tai
Food & Function 2026 17(5):2225-2239

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 41701207
DOI
10.1039/D5FO04538J
Funding
Supported in part by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to William Chi-Shing Tai (ZDFT and BE8Z).
Competing interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Study snapshot

DesignControlled preclinical combination study in normal and experimental insomnia models
ModelNormal mice, caffeine-induced sleep-disturbed mice and PCPA-induced insomnia mice
SampleMouse cohorts across normal, caffeine-disturbed and PCPA-insomnia experiments; total N not stated in the PubMed abstract.
InterventionApigenin plus magnesium compared with individual treatments and controls
DurationPreclinical acute/experimental sleep-model protocols
EndpointsSleep duration; Sleep architecture; Systemic TNF-alpha; Hypothalamic TNF-alpha; Microglial activation; NF-kappaB signaling

What the study showed, in plain terms

This 2026 mouse study tested apigenin and magnesium together in normal sleep and two experimental insomnia models.

Key findings

The combination increased sleep duration by 44% in normal mice, 32% in caffeine-disturbed mice and 37% in PCPA-induced insomnia mice versus the relevant controls, and outperformed either ingredient alone in the reported experiments. Mechanistic analyses implicated inflammatory and microglial signaling changes.

What this study can and cannot tell us

These are mouse models, including chemically induced insomnia, and cannot establish that an apigenin-magnesium combination improves human insomnia or that the effect translates to common supplement doses.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology