Fenugreek seed

Fenugreek seed
Latin Name: Trigonella foenum-graecum
Pharmacopeial Name: Foenugraeci semen
Other Names: Greek hay, trigonella

Overview

Fenugreek is an annual herb native to the Mediterranean region, the Ukraine, India, and China, now widely cultivated in these areas. The material of commerce comes exclusively from cultivated plants mainly from Morocco, Turkey, India, and China (BHP, 1996; Bruneton, 1995; Budavari, 1996; Leung and Foster, 1996; Wichtl and Bisset, 1994).It was brought under cultivation in ancient Assyria during the seventh century B.C.E. (Bown, 1995). Its present genus name, Trigonella, comes from Greek, meaning 'three-angled,' from the form of its corolla. Its species name foenum-graecum means 'Greek hay.' Fenugreek was once used to scent inferior hay (Grieve, 1979).

Its recorded use dates back to ancient Egyptian medicine, first mentioned in the Ebers papyri (ca. 1500 B.C.E.) as an herb to induce childbirth.

It has been used therapeutically for millennia in traditional Arabian, Greek, and Indian (Ayurvedic, Siddha, and Unani) medicines. Its use eventually spread east ward to China,where it was introduced into Chinese medicine during the Sung Dynasty in the eleventh century (Bown, 1995; Grieve, 1979; Leung and Foster, 1996; Nadkarni, 1976).It is official in the present-day Chinese pharmacopeiafor pain and 'coldness' in the lower abdomen, hernia, and weakness and edema of the legs caused by 'cold-damp' (Tu, 1992).

Application to Blood Sugar

Modern clinical studies have investigated its hypocholesterolemic and hypoglycemic actions in normal and diabetic humans (Bruneton, 1995; Newall et al., 1996). One study reported hypoglycemic activity in healthy individuals who ingested whole seed extracts. Improved plasma glucose and insulin responses and reduced 24-hour urinary glucose concentrations were reported after chronic ingestion for 21 days. In two diabetic insulin-dependent subjects, daily administration of 25 g fenugreek seed powder reduced fasting plasma-glucose profile, glycosuria, and daily insulin requirements (56 to 20 units) after eight weeks. Significant reductions in serum-cholesterol concentrations were also reported (Sharma, 1986). A subsequent study investigated the lipid-lowering activity of fenugreek seeds in 60 non-insulin dependent diabetic subjects. Isocaloric diets without and with fenugreek were given for seven days and 24 weeks, respectively. Ingestion of an experimental diet containing 25 g fenugreek seed powder daily resulted in a significant reduction of total cholesterol, low density and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. The effect on lipid levels was sustained and lasting. Because it also affects glucose and insulin levels, the authors concluded that it should be considered a useful dietary supplement for prevention of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis in diabetic subjects (Sharma et al., 1996).

Fenugreek is one the seven ingredients contained in DEPSYL
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