AA Rational: Fenugreek supplementation increases the production of Oxytocin.
Personal Experience: * Increased appetite, energy, mobility, sex drive and mental outlook.
The first time I took Fenugreek I experienced a dramatic improvement in all of these parameters.After a few days of taking Fenugreek I became fatigued and had a difficult time concentrating. After I discontinued taking it, I had what could best be describes as a hangover.
Strength and Endurance: A study by Ikeuchi et al. (2006) showed that fenugreek could be used to enhance the strength and endurance in healthy individuals. [[i] [ii]]
The seeds also contain oxytocin which stimulates uterine contractions. Thus a physician’s advice is necessary before consumption.
Fenugreek is considered as a highly nutritive seeds since it contain essential and non essential amino acids. The active substances are Trigonelline, galactamman, choline, sterod, saponins and Flavonainds other pharmacological properties of Fenugreek (Rao et al., 1996)
Extensive preclinical and clinical research have outlined the pharmaceutical uses of fenugreek as antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, antiobesity, anticancer, anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, galactogogue and for miscellaneous pharmacological effects, including improving women's health. [[iii]]
Growth hormone: Fenugreek has also been shown to possess a growth promoting effect. Saponin I and dioscin derived from its seed showed increased release of rat growth hormone from rat pituitary cells demonstrating for the first time that fenugreek derived steroidal saponins could stimulate rat growth hormone release in rat pituitary cells (Shim et al., 2008).
treatment with Trigonella seed has been shown to restore the altered activity of cellular antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in tissue such as heart, muscle and brain during diabetes (Baquer et al., 2011).
leucine, lysine and tryptophan: germinated fenugreek seeds, which are DOI: 10.3109/13880209.2013.826247 Fenugreek in heath and disease 245 considered to be more beneficial than dried seeds by providing essential amino acids, especially leucine, lysine and tryptophan (Mansour & El-Adawy, 1994).
Out of a number of medicinal properties known of Trigonella, its hypoglycemic or antihyperglycemic effect has been studied the most and has also been utilized by diabetic patients (Bordia et al., 1997; Khan et al., 2012; Sharma et al., 1990).
Recently, Morani et al. (2012) demonstrated ameliorative effects of Trigonella seed extract on painful peripheral neuropathy in rats. Fenugreek seed-derived fraction, named IND01 by the authors, has been purified and standardized by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to a marker compound trigonelline. Daily oral administration of IND01 for 15 days restored motor nerve conduction velocity in rats with SNCI. The results from this study suggested a neuroprotective role of Trigonella in painful peripheral neuropathy commonly observed in diabetes (Morani et al., 2012).
Kannappan and Anuradha (2009) observed insulin-sensitizing actions of fenugreek seed-derived polyphenols and found it comparable to a well-known diabetic drug metformin in a rat model.
A methanol extract of fenugreek seed inhibited he production of phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a in cultured THP-1 cells (Kawabata et al., 2011).
Ethanol extract of Trigonella significantly decreased paw edema and decreased levels of IL-1a, IL-1b, IL-2, IL-6 and TNF-a.
Furthermore, the soluble gel fraction of fenugreek seed has been found better than omeprazole in preventing gastric lesion formation. The authors speculated that the polysaccharide composition of the gel and/or the flavonoids could be
responsible for the gastroprotective and anti-secretory activities of fenugreek seeds (Pandian et al., 2002).
In a pilot study, subjects with frequent heartburn, a symptom of indigestion, when given fenugreek fiber product, 30 min before the meals/day for 2 week, showed diminished heartburn severity reducing the use of a mild antacid as a rescue medicine. Moreover, the fenugreek fiber showed effects similar to that of an over-the-counter antacid medication (ranitidine at 75 mg, twice a day), suggesting benefits of fenugreek fiber products in people with certain degrees of heartburn (DiSilvestro et al., 2011).
Several preclinical studies have reported on the pro-apoptotic and anti-cancer properties of diosgenin against a variety of cancers, both in in vitro and in vivo. Diosgenin has also been reported to reverse multi-drug resistance in cancer cells and sensitize cancer cells to standard chemotherapy. Remarkably, diosgenin has also been reported to be used by pharmaceutical companies to synthesize steroidal drugs. Several novel diosgenin analogs and nano-formulations have been synthesized with improved anti-cancer efficacy and pharmacokinetic profile.[iv]
The fenugreek groups reported significant improvements in aging male symptoms, anxiety levels, grip strength, and indicators of HRQoL compared to the placebo group, p's < 0.05. No adverse events were reported.[[v]]
The information available in the literature on the health benefits and pharmaceutical effects of Trigonella accounts for its known medicinal properties and adds new therapeutic effects in newer indications. Besides its known medicinal properties such as carminative, gastric stimulant, antidiabetic and galactogogue (lactation-inducer) effects, newer research has identified hypocholesterolemic, antilipidemia, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antiulcer, antilithigenic, anticarcinogenic and other miscellaneous medicinal effects of fenugreek.[[vi] [vii]]
Safety/Toxicology
General: Literature review reveals no reports of clinically significant harmful adverse effects. Fenugreek has traditionally been considered safe and well tolerated. When the standard battery of tests (reverse mutation assay; mouse lymphoma forward mutation assay; mouse micronucleus assay) recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for food ingredients was conducted on a fenugreek seed extract, the extract
Pharmacology
Constituents: In laboratory tests, fenugreek has been found to contain 4-hydroxyisoleucine (4-OH-Ile), fat, diosgenin, iron, phenolic acids, protein, and protodioscin (17; 67; 68; 70; 73; 74).
Toxicological evaluation in 60 diabetic patients taking 25 g/day of powdered fenugreek seeds for 24 weeks reported no clinical hepatic or renal toxicity and no hematological abnormalities (25). However, the size of this study is likely too small to generalize results. The acute oral LD50 was found to be >5 g/kg in rats, and the acute dermal LD50 was >2 g/kg in rabbits (31). Debitterized fenugreek powder failed to induce any signs of toxicity or mortality following acute and subchronic regimens in mice and rats (32). When given fenugreek seeds for 90 days, weanling rats did not experience significant hematological, hepatic, or histopathological changes (33). When the standard battery of tests (reverse mutation assay; mouse lymphoma forward mutation assay; mouse micronucleus assay) recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for food ingredients was conducted on a fenugreek seed extract, the extract was not genotoxic and was found to be safe for diabetics (34).[[viii]]
[i] Fenugreek: A review on its nutraceutical properties and utilization in various food products
[ii] Fenugreek: potential applications as a functional food and nutraceutical
[iii] A small plant with big benefits: Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum‐graecum Linn.) for disease prevention and health promotion
[iv] Pro-Apoptotic and Anti-Cancer Properties of Diosgenin: A Comprehensive and Critical Review
[v] Efficacy of fenugreek seed extract on men's psychological and physical health: a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial
[vi] Pharmacological effects of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. in health and disease
[vii] Diosgenin, 4-Hydroxyisoleucine, and Fiber from Fenugreek: Mechanisms of Actions and Potential Effects on Metabolic Syndrome1,2
[viii] Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L. Leguminosae): An Evidence-Based Systematic Review by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration