Stack Genius ingredient guide
Chrysin
A pale-yellow flavone from passionflower, honey, and propolis, isolated for use in sports and hormonal-support supplements.
Overview
Chrysin is a flavone — a specific subclass of flavonoids — that occurs naturally in passionflower (Passiflora), certain honeys, propolis, and a handful of other botanical sources. As an isolated ingredient it appears as a pale-yellow crystalline powder that is essentially odorless.
In lab systems chrysin acts as an aromatase inhibitor, meaning it can slow the enzyme that converts androgens to estrogens. That mechanism is the reason it gets marketed toward physique- and hormone-focused audiences, even though the enzyme effect seen in a test tube does not translate cleanly to what happens after a capsule.
The catch that shapes everything about chrysin as a supplement is bioavailability. Oral chrysin is heavily processed by intestinal and liver enzymes into inactive conjugates, so blood levels of the free flavone stay low even at multi-hundred-milligram doses. Products often try to work around this with piperine, phospholipid carriers, or liposomal delivery.
Key takeaways
- Chrysin is a flavone from passionflower and propolis, sold as an isolate for hormone-oriented uses.
- Oral bioavailability is very low — most chrysin is conjugated before it reaches circulation.
- Lab aromatase effects do not straightforwardly carry over to human blood hormone levels.
Practical guidance
What to know before adding Chrysin
Evidence snapshot
Human clinical data for isolated chrysin are limited and mostly small. Trials looking at testosterone or estrogen shifts have generally not shown meaningful changes at typical supplement doses, largely because circulating free chrysin stays low. Framing it as an interesting flavone with unresolved practical activity is more accurate than treating it as a proven hormone modulator.
What to look for on the label
A useful label states the chrysin dose per capsule in plain milligrams, notes whether the source is synthetic or extracted from a botanical (often passionflower), and, if enhanced delivery is claimed, describes the carrier (piperine, phospholipid, liposomal). Products that hide chrysin inside a proprietary 'anti-aromatase blend' make it impossible to know your actual dose.
What makes a better product
Better chrysin products publish purity data (chrysin is often supplied at 98%+), disclose the botanical origin or synthesis pathway, and are honest about bioavailability rather than implying that raw milligrams translate directly to activity. Formulas that pair chrysin with a characterized absorption enhancer and quantify both doses are more transparent than 'proprietary complexes.'
Watch-outs
Because chrysin is marketed toward hormone modulation, it is often stacked with other aromatase- or hormone-adjacent ingredients where combined effects are poorly characterized. Anyone with hormone-sensitive conditions, on hormone therapy, or on aromatase-related medications should treat chrysin as an ingredient to clear with their clinician before use rather than experiment with on their own.
Dosing & Timing
Doses in commercial products typically range from 250 to 1,500 mg per day, often split across two servings. Higher doses do not necessarily produce proportionally more effect given the absorption ceiling. Chrysin is fat-associated in nature, so taking it with a meal that includes some dietary fat is a reasonable default; enhanced-delivery products should be dosed per their own instructions.
Safety and interaction context
At typical supplement doses chrysin appears well tolerated in the short human data available, with occasional GI complaints. Because it interacts with drug-metabolizing enzymes in the gut and liver, it has theoretical potential to shift how other medications are processed — a relevant caution for anyone on multiple prescriptions. Hormone-therapy users and anyone pregnant or nursing should avoid it without clinician guidance.
Sources
- Linus Pauling Institute — FlavonoidsPositions chrysin within flavone chemistry and bioavailability limits.
- NCCIH — Herbs at a GlanceFramework for isolated plant compounds.
- MedlinePlus — Dietary SupplementsConsumer-facing supplement literacy resource.
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