Fenugreek

(Trigonella foenum-graecum)

Other Names:

N/A

Range:

Family:
Fabacaea - Pea Family

Parts Used:

Seeds

Culinary Uses:

Used as a culinary flavoring.

Energetics

Taste: Bitter
Thermal: Cooling
Humidity: Drying

Traditional Medicinal Uses:

Not Known

Indications:

Diabetes Mellitus, Hyperglycemia, Hyperlipidemia, Hypogonadism, Insulin Resistance, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Indications Citations

The fact that studies concerning all indications listed above have not yet been completed, does not mean said uses are invalid. The plants I have included have a long history of effective use, and most were part of the U.S. Pharmacopia prior to the advent of allopathic medicine.

Diabetes Mellitus (Diabetes): Hota D, Padhy BM, Maiti R, Bisoi D, Sahoo JP, Patro BK, Kumar P, Goel A, Banik SP, Chakraborty S, Rungta M, Bagchi M, Bagchi D. A Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Clinical Investigation to Evaluate the Efficacy of a Patented Trigonella foenum-graecum Seed Extract "Fenfuro®" in Type 2 Diabetics. J Am Nutr Assoc. 2024 Feb;43(2):147-156. doi: 10.1080/27697061.2023.2233008. Epub 2023 Jul 17. PMID: 37459747.

Hyperglycemia (High blood glucose levels): Zarvandi M, Rakhshandeh H, Abazari M, Shafiee-Nick R, Ghorbani A. Safety and efficacy of a polyherbal formulation for the management of dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia in patients with advanced-stage of type-2 diabetes. Biomed Pharmacother. 2017 May;89:69-75. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2017.02.016. Epub 2017 Feb 17. PMID: 28214690.

Hyperlipidemia (High Cholesterol): Zarvandi M, Rakhshandeh H, Abazari M, Shafiee-Nick R, Ghorbani A. Safety and efficacy of a polyherbal formulation for the management of dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia in patients with advanced-stage of type-2 diabetes. Biomed Pharmacother. 2017 May;89:69-75. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2017.02.016. Epub 2017 Feb 17. PMID: 28214690.

Hypogonadism (Low testosterone): Rao A, Steels E, Inder WJ, Abraham S, Vitetta L. Testofen, a specialised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract reduces age-related symptoms of androgen decrease, increases testosterone levels and improves sexual function in healthy aging males in a double-blind randomised clinical study. Aging Male. 2016 Jun;19(2):134-42. doi: 10.3109/13685538.2015.1135323. Epub 2016 Jan 20. PMID: 26791805.

Insulin Resistance: Kiss R, Szabó K, Gesztelyi R, Somodi S, Kovács P, Szabó Z, Németh J, Priksz D, Kurucz A, Juhász B, Szilvássy Z. Insulin-Sensitizer Effects of Fenugreek Seeds in Parallel with Changes in Plasma MCH Levels in Healthy Volunteers. Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Mar 8;19(3):771. doi: 10.3390/ijms19030771. PMID: 29518003; PMCID: PMC5877632.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): Swaroop A, Jaipuriar AS, Gupta SK, Bagchi M, Kumar P, Preuss HG, Bagchi D. Efficacy of a Novel Fenugreek Seed Extract (Trigonella foenum-graecum, Furocyst) in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Int J Med Sci. 2015 Oct 3;12(10):825-31. doi: 10.7150/ijms.13024. PMID: 26516311; PMCID: PMC4615243.

Medicinal Actions:
Anticatarrhal, Cholagogue, Emollient, Hypoglycemic, Hypolipidemic