Fenugreek
Specifications
Botanical Name : Trigonella foenum graecum
Saponins : 20%
Fenugreek
Fenugreek is native to Eastern Europe and parts of Asia but now widely cultivated almost all over the world for its leaves and seeds. At maturity the pods contain hard brown seeds of Fenugreek, which is known and utilized for its medicinal use.
This plant has medicinal alkaloids, steroid compounds, and sapogenins and many uses have been mentioned for this plant in traditional medicine. Trigonelline is considered as the most important metabolite of Fenugreek, which is effective in treating diabetes and decreasing blood cholesterol. The mature Fenugreek seed has many other active components such as amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and saponins such as disogenin, gitogenin, neogitogenin, homorientin saponaretin, neogigogenin and trigogenin, fibers, flavonoids, polysaccharides, fixed oils and some identified alkaloids, that is, trigonelline and choline. In manufacturing, Fenugreek extracts are used in soaps and cosmetics.
How does it work?
Fenugreek appears to slow absorption of sugars in the stomach and stimulate insulin. Both of these effects lower blood sugar in people with diabetes.
Fenugreek is well known for its multiple pharmacological properties including antidiabetic, antioxidative, hypocholesterolemic, antineoplastic, anti-inflammatory, antiulcerogenic, antipyretic, immunomodulatory and antitumor. Different active components of Fenugreek seeds have been identified and isolated such as polyphenolic flavonoids which exhibit most common properties, that is, hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic, hypotriglyceridemic and antiperoxidative, steroid saponins exhibiting anti-inflammatory and uterus and lactation-stimulating properties, polysaccharides such as galactomannans contains antidiabetic effects and an amino acid 4-hydroxyisoleucine has been shown to possess insulin-mimetic properties.
Benefits of Fenugreek
