Research

Hormonal

Apigenin, a natural flavonoid, ameliorates obesity-related inflammation and metabolic disorders by acting as a selective PPARγ modulator that promotes M2 macrophage polarization without causing the adverse side effects associated with full PPARγ agonists like rosiglitazone.

Apigenin, a flavonoid found in plants like chamomile and parsley, may help reduce obesity-related inflammation and improve metabolic health by modulating the PPARγ receptor. In mouse studies, it reduced inflammatory markers and improved liver and glucose metrics without the weight gain or bone loss seen with prescription drugs like rosiglitazone. While promising, these results are from animal models, and human dosing/effectiveness remains to be established.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Activation of PPARγ by apigenin blocks p65 translocation into nuclei through inhibition of p65/PPARγ complex translocation into nuclei, thereby decreasing NF-κB activation and favoring M2 macrophage polarization... Strikingly, apigenin reduces liver and muscular steatosis, decreases the levels of ALT, AST, TC and TG, improving glucose resistance obviously. Unlike rosiglitazone, apigenin does not cause significant weight gain, osteoporosis et al.
Xiujing Feng et al. · EBioMedicine · 2016

Why this rating

The study is conducted in murine models (HFD and ob/ob mice) and cell lines, not humans, limiting direct applicability to human clinical outcomes.

Source

Activation of PPARγ by a Natural Flavonoid Modulator, Apigenin Ameliorates Obesity-Related Inflammation Via Regulation of Macrophage Polarization

Xiujing Feng et al. · EBioMedicine · 2016

DOI 10.1016/j.ebiom.2016.06.017

mechanism_only · n=36Cited 167×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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