Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L. Leguminosae): An evidence-based systematic review by the natural standard research collaboration

Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy

Volumn 7, Issue 3-4, 2007, Pages 143-177

  Ulbricht, Catherine ^a   Basch, Ethan ^b   Burke, Dilys ^c   Cheung, Lisa ^d   Ernst, Edzard ^e   Giese, Nicole ^c   Foppa, Ivo ^f   Hammerness, Paul ^g   Hashmi, Sadaf ^c   Kuo, Grace ^h   Miranda, Michelle ^d   Mukherjee, Siddhartha ^g   Smith, Michael ⁱ   Sollars, David ^j   Tanguay Colucci, Shaina ^c   Vijayan, Nazhiyath ^k   Weissner, Wendy ^c  

^a MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL   (United States)

^b MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER   (United States)

^c Natural Standard   (United States)

^d UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND   (United States)

^e UNIVERSITY OF EXETER   (United Kingdom)

^f UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA   (United States)

^g HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL   (United States)

^h Baylor University   (United States)

ⁱ CANADIAN COLLEGE OF NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE   (Canada)

^j New England School of Acupuncture   (United Kingdom)

^k UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

more..

Author keywords

Adverse effects; Dosing; Evidence based; Fenugreek; Interactions; Pharmacodynamics; Pharmacokinetics; Pharmacology; Systematic review; Trigonellafoenum gracecum

Indexed keywords

ALCOHOL; ANALGESIC AGENT; ANTIARRHYTHMIC AGENT; ANTICOAGULANT AGENT; ANTIDEPRESSANT AGENT; ANTIDIABETIC AGENT; ANTILIPEMIC AGENT; ANTINEOPLASTIC AGENT; ANTIOXIDANT; ANTITHROMBOCYTIC AGENT; CARDIAC GLYCOSIDE; CONTRACEPTIVE AGENT; CORTICOSTEROID; ESTROGEN DERIVATIVE; GLUCOSE; INSULIN; LAXATIVE; LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL; MONOAMINE OXIDASE INHIBITOR; NONSTEROID ANTIINFLAMMATORY AGENT; POTASSIUM; THYROID HORMONE DERIVATIVE; TRIGONELLA FOENUM GRAECUM EXTRACT; PLANT EXTRACT;

ALLERGY; ANALGESIC ACTIVITY; ANGIONEUROTIC EDEMA; ANTINEOPLASTIC ACTIVITY; ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY; AREA UNDER THE CURVE; BLEEDING; CHINESE MEDICINE; CHOLESTEROL BLOOD LEVEL; CLINICAL TRIAL; CREATININE BLOOD LEVEL; DIARRHEA; DIGESTION; DISTRIBUTION VOLUME; DIZZINESS; DRUG ACTIVITY; DRUG BLOOD LEVEL; DRUG CONTRAINDICATION; DRUG EFFICACY; DRUG HALF LIFE; DRUG INDICATION; DRUG MECHANISM; DRUG SAFETY; DYSURIA; EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE; EXERCISE RECOVERY; FLATULENCE; FOOD DRUG INTERACTION; GENOTOXICITY; GLUCOSE BLOOD LEVEL; HERB DRUG INTERACTION; HUMAN; HYPERGLYCEMIA; HYPERLIPIDEMIA; HYPOGLYCEMIA; INDIA; INSULIN DEPENDENT DIABETES MELLITUS; INSULIN SENSITIVITY; LABOR INDUCTION; LACTATION; LIVER PROTECTION; METABOLISM; NON INSULIN DEPENDENT DIABETES MELLITUS; NONHUMAN; PARESTHESIA; PHARMACODYNAMICS; PLANT SEED; POTASSIUM BLOOD LEVEL; PREGNANCY; PRIORITY JOURNAL; RECOMMENDED DRUG DOSE; REVIEW; SIDE EFFECT; SYSTEMATIC REVIEW; THROMBOCYTE AGGREGATION INHIBITION; THYROID HORMONE BLOOD LEVEL; TRIACYLGLYCEROL BLOOD LEVEL; UREA NITROGEN BLOOD LEVEL; URINALYSIS; WHEEZING; DOSE RESPONSE; DRUG INTERACTION; FENUGREEK; PHYTOTHERAPY;

CLINICAL TRIALS AS TOPIC; DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIP, DRUG; DRUG INTERACTIONS; EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE; HUMANS; PHYTOTHERAPY; PLANT EXTRACTS; TRIGONELLA;

EID: 58149142504     PISSN: 15228940     EISSN: 15229106     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/15228940802142852     Document Type: Review

References (85)

1. Parvizpur, A., Ahmadiani, A. and Kamalinejad, M. (2004) Spinal serotonergic system is partially involved in antinociception induced by Trigonella foenum-graecum (TFG) leaf extract. J Ethnopharmacol, 95:1, pp. 13-17.
2. Devasena, T. and Menon, VP (2002) Enhancement of circulatory antioxidants by fenugreek during 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced rat colon carcinogenesis. J Biochem Mol Biol Biophys, 6:4, pp. 289-292.
3. Kaviarasan, S., Vijayalakshmi, K. and Anuradha, CV (2004) Polyphenol-rich extract of fenugreek seeds protect erythrocytes from oxidative damage. Plant Foods Hum Nutr, 59:4, pp. 143-147.
4. Fugh-Berman, A. (2003) "Bust enhancing" herbal products. Obstet Gynecol, 101:6, pp. 1345-1349.
5. Sur, P., Das, M., Gomes, A., Vedasiromoni, JR, Sahu, NP, Banerjee, S., Sharma, RM and Ganguly, DK (2001) Trigonella foenum graecum (fenugreek) seed extract as an antineoplastic agent. Phytother Res, 15:3, pp. 257-259.
6. Vats, V., Yadav, SP, Biswas, NR and Grover, JK (2004) Anti-cataract activity of Pterocarpus marsupium bark and Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds extract in alloxan diabetic rats. J Ethnopharmacol, 93:2, pp. 289-294.
7. Devasena, T. and Menon, VP (2003) Fenugreek affects the activity of beta-glucuronidase and mucinase in the colon. Phytother Res, 17:9, pp. 1088-1091.
8. Raju, J., Patlolla, JM, Swamy, MV and Rao, CV (2004) Diosgenin, a steroid saponin of Trigonella foenum graecum (Fenugreek), inhibits azoxymethane-induced aberrant crypt foci formation in F344 rats and induces apoptosis in HT-29 human colon cancer cells. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 13:8, pp. 1392-1398.
9. Damanik, R., Wahlqvist, ML and Wattanapenpaiboon, N. (2004) The use of a putative lactagogue plant on breast milk production in Simalungun, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 13, p. Sl.
10. Gabay, MP (2002) Galactogogues: Medications that induce lactation. J Hum Lact, 18:3, pp. 274-279.
11. Pandian, RS, Anuradha, CV and Viswanathan, P. (2002) Gastroprotective effect of fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum graecum) on experimental gastric ulcer in rats. J Ethnopharmacol, 81:3, pp. 393-397.
12. Tahiliani, P. and Kar, A. (2003) Mitigation of thyroxine-induced hyperglycaemia by two plant extracts. Phytother Res, 17:3, pp. 294-296.
13. Bin-Hafeez, B., Haque, R., Parvez, S., Pandey, S., Sayeed, I. and Raisuddin, S. (2003) Immunomodulatory effects of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum L.) extract in mice. Int Imminopharmacol, 3:2, pp. 257-265.
14. Harve, G. and Kamath, V. (2004) Larvicidal activity of plant extracts used alone and in combination with known synthetic larvicidal agents against Aedes aegypti. Indian J Exp Biol, 42:12, pp. 1216-1219.
15. Broca, C., Breil, V., Cruciani-Guglielmacci, C., Manteghetti, M., Rouault, C., Derouet, M., Rizkalla, S., Pau, B., Petit, P., Ribes, G., Ktorza, A., Gross, R., Reach, G. and Taouis, M. (2004) Insulinotropic agent ID-1101 (4-hydroxyisoleucine) activates insulin signaling in rat. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, 287:3, pp. E463-E471.
16. Thakran, S., Siddiqui, MR and Baquer, NZ (2004) Trigonella foenum graecum seed powder protects against histopathological abnormalities in tissues of diabetic rats. Mol Cell Biochem, 266:1, pp. 151-159.
17. Hibasami, H., Moteki, H., Ishikawa, K., Katsuzaki, H., Imai, K., Yoshioka, K., Ishii, Y. and Komiya, T. (2003) Protodioscin isolated from fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraecum L.) induces cell death and morphological change indicative of apoptosis in leukemic cell line H-60, but not in gastric cancer cell line KATO III. Int J Mol Med, pp. 23-26.
18. Kaviarasan, S., Ramamurty, N., Gunasekaran, P., Varalakshmi, E. and Anuradha, CV (2006) Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) seed extract prevents ethanol-induced toxicity and apoptosis in Chang liver cells. Alcohol Alcohol, 41:3, pp. 267-273.
19. Randhir, R., Lin, YT and Shetty, K. (2004) Phenolics, their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in dark germinated fenugreek sprouts in response to peptide and phytochemical elicitors. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 13:3, pp. 295-307.
20. Thirunavukkarasu, V., Anuradha, CV and Viswanathan, P. (2003) Protective effect of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) seeds in experimental ethanol toxicity. Phytother Res, 17:7, pp. 737-743.
21. Zia, T., Hasnain, SN and Hasan, SK (2001) Evaluation of the oral hypoglycaemic effect of Trigonella foenum graecum L. (methi) in normal mice. J Ethnopharmacol, 75:2, pp. 191-195.
22. Patil, SP, Niphadkar, PV and Bapat, MM (1997) Allergy to fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraecum). Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol, 78:3, pp. 297-300.
23. Israel, D. and Youngkin, EQ (1997) Herbal therapies for perimenopausal and menopausal complaints. Pharmacotherapy, 17:5, pp. 970-984.
24. Basch, E., Ulbricht, C., Kuo, G., Szapary, P. and Smith, M. (2003) Therapeutic applications of fenugreek. Altern Med Rev, 8, pp. 20-27.
25. Sharma, RD, Sarkar, A. Hazra, DK et al. (1996) Toxicological evaluation of fenugreek seeds: A long term feeding experiment in diabetic patients. Phytother Res, 10:6, pp. 519-520.
26. Sharma, RD, Sarkar, DK Hazra, B. et al. (1996) Hypolipidaemic effect of fenugreek seeds: A chronic study in non-insulin dependent diabetic patients. Phytother Res, 10, pp. 332-334.
27. Raghuram, TC, Sharma, RD Sivakumar, B. et al. (1994) Effect of fenugreek seeds on intravenous glucose disposition in non-insulin dependent diabetic patients. Phytotherapy Research, 8:2, pp. 83-86.
28. Bordia, A., Verma, SK and Srivastava, KC (1997) Effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rose.) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum L.) on blood lipids, blood sugar and platelet aggregation in patients with coronary artery disease. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids, 56:5, pp. 379-384.
29. Sharma, RD and Raghuram, TC (1990) Hypoglycaemic effect of fenugreek seeds in non-insulin dependent diabetic subjects. Nutr Res, 10, pp. 731-739.
30. Sharma, RD, Raghuram, TC and Rao, NS (1990) Effect of fenugreek seeds on blood glucose and serum lipids in type I diabetes. Eur J Clin Nutrit, 44:4, pp. 301-306.
31. Opdyke, DL (1978) Fenugreek absolute. Food Cosmet Toxicol, 16, pp. 755-756.
32. Muralidhara, Narasimhamurthy, K., Viswanatha, S. and Ramesh, BS (1999) Acute and subchronic toxicity assessment of debitterized fenugreek powder in the mouse and rat. Food Chem Toxicol, 37:8, pp. 831-838.
33. Rao, PU, Sesikeran, B. Rao, PS et al. (1996) Short term nutritional and safety evaluation of fenugreek. Nutr Res, 16:9, pp. 1495-1505.
34. Flammang, AM, Cifone, MA, Erexson, GL and Stankowski Jr., LF (2004) Genotoxicity testing of a fenugreek extract. Food Chem Toxicol, 42:11, pp. 1769-1775.
35. Ohnuma, N., Yamaguchi, E. and Kawakami, Y. (1998) Anaphylaxis to curry powder. Allergy, 53:4, pp. 452-454.
36. Madar, Z., Abel, R., Samish, S. and Arad, J. (1988) Glucose-lowering effect of fenugreek in non-insulin dependent diabetics. Eur J Clin Nutr, 42, pp. 51-54.
37. Mishkinsky, J., Joseph, B. and Sulman, FG (2012) Hypoglycemic effect of trigonelline. Lancet, 2:7529, pp. 1311-1312.
38. Sharma, RD, Sarkar, A. Hazra, DK et al. (1996) Use of fenugreek seed powder in the management of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Nutrit Res, 16:8, pp. 1331-1339.
39. Sharma, RD (1986) Effect of fenugreek seeds and leaves on blood glucose and serum insulin responses in human subjects. Nutr Res, 6, pp. 1353-1364.
40. Abdel-Barry, JA, Abdel-Hassan, IA, Jawad, AM and al Hakiem, MH (2000) Hypoglycaemic effect of aqueous extract of the leaves of Trigonella foenum-graecum in healthy volunteers. East Mediterr Health J, 6, pp. 83-88.
41. Panda, S., Tahiliani, P. and Kar, A. (1999) Inhibition of triiodothyronine production by fenugreek seed extract in mice and rats. Pharmacol Res, 40:5, pp. 405-409.
42. Sharma, RD (1986) An evaluation of hypocholesterolemic factor of fenugreek seeds (T. foenum graecuni) in rats. Nutrit Rep Internat, 33, pp. 669-677.
43. Al Khaldi, SF, Martin, SA and Prakash, L. (1999) Fermentation of fenugreek fiber, psyllium husk, and wheat bran by Bacteroides ovatus V975. Curr Microbiol, 39:4, pp. 231-232.
44. Heck, AM, DeWitt, BA and Lukes, AL (2007) Potential interactions between alternative therapies and warfarin. Am J Health Syst Pharm, 57:13, pp. 1221-1227.
45. Abebe, W. (2002) Herbal medication: Potential for adverse interactions with analgesic drugs. J Clin Pharm Ther, 27:6, pp. 391-401.
46. Lambert, JP and Cormier, A. (2001) Potential interaction between warfarin and boldo-fenu-greek. Pharmacotherapy, 21:4, pp. 509-512.
47. Takruri, HR and Humeid, MA (1988) Nitrate levels in edible wild herbs and vegetables common in Jordan. Nutr Health, 6:2, pp. 89-98.
48. Sewell, AC, Mosandl, A. and Bohles, H. (2009) False diagnosis of maple syrup urine disease owing to ingestion of herbal tea. N Engl J Med, 341:10, p. 769.
49. Abdo, MS and al Kafawi, AA (1969) Experimental studies on the effect of Trigonella foenum-graecum. Planta Med, 17:1, pp. 14-18.
50. Farnsworth, NR, Bingel, AS, Cordell, GA, Crane, FA and Fong, HH (1975) Potential value of plants as sources of new antifertility agents I. J Pharm Sci, 64:4, pp. 535-598.
51. Tiran, D. (2003) The use of fenugreek for breast feeding women. Complement Ther Nurs Midwifery, 9:3, pp. 155-156.
52. Parvizpur, A., Ahmadiani, A. and Kamalinejad, M. (2003) Probable role of spinal purino-ceptors in the analgesic effect of Trigonella foenum (TFG) leaves extract. J Ethno-pharmacol, 104, pp. 108-112.
53. Ajabnoor, MA and Tilmisany, AK (1988) Effect of Trigonella foenum graecum on blood glucose levels in normal and alloxan-diabetic mice. J Ethnopharm, 22, pp. 45-49.
54. Amin, R., Abdul-Ghani, AS and Suleiman, MS (1987) Effect of Trigonella feonum graecum on intestinal absorption. Proc. of the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association (Indianapolis U.S.A.). Diabetes, 36, p. 211a.
55. Kochhar, A. and Nagi, M. (2005) Effect of supplementation of traditional medicinal plants on blood glucose in non-insulin-dependent diabetics: A pilot study. J Med Food, 8:4, pp. 545-549.
56. Sauvaire, Y., Petit, P., Broca, C., Manteghetti, M., Baissac, Y., Fernandez-Alvarez, J., Gross, R., Roye, M., Leconte, A., Gomis, R. and Ribes, G. (1998) 4-Hydroxyisoleucine: A novel amino acid potentiator of insulin secretion. Diabetes, 47:2, pp. 206-210.
57. Vijayakumar, MV, Singh, S., Chhipa, RR and Bhat, MK (2005) The hypoglycaemic activity of fenugreek seed extract is mediated through the stimulation of an insulin signalling pathway. Br J Pharmacol, 146, pp. 41-48.
58. Stark, A. and Madar, Z. (1993) The effect of an ethanol extract derived from fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) on bile acid absorption and cholesterol levels in rats. Br J Nutr, 69, pp. 277-287.
59. Petit, P., Sauvaire, Y., Ponsin, G., Manteghetti, M., Fave, A. and Ribes, G. (1993) Effects of a fenugreek seed extract on feeding behaviour in the rat: Metabolic-endocrine correlates. Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 45:2, pp. 369-374.
60. Al-Habori, M., Al-Aghbari, AM and Al-Mamary, M. (1998) Effects of fenugreek seeds and its extracts on plasma lipid profile: A study on rabbits. Phytother Res, 12:8, pp. 572-575.
61. Al-Habori, M. and Raman, A. (1998) Antidiabetic and hypocholesterolaemic effects of fenugreek. Phytother Res, 12:4, pp. 233-242.
62. Valette, G., Sauvaire, Y., Baccou, JC and Ribes, G. (1984) Hypocholesterolaemic effect of fenugreek seeds in dogs. Atherosclerosis, 50:1, pp. 105-111.
63. Sauvaire, Y., Ribes, G., Baccou, JC and Loubatieres-Mariani, MM (1991) Implication of steroid saponins and sapogenins in the hypocholesterolemic effect of fenugreek. Lipids, 26:3, pp. 191-197.
64. Varshney, IP and Sharma, SC (1966) Saponins and sapogenins: Part XXXII. Studies on Trigonella foenum-graecum Linn. Seeds. J Indian Chem Soc, 43:8, pp. 564-567.
65. Yoshikawa, M., Murakami, T., Komatsu, H., Murakami, N., Yamahara, J. and Matsuda, H. (1997) Medicinal foodstuffs. IV. Fenugreek seed. (1): structures of trigoneosides la, Ib, Ila, lib, Hla, and Illb, new furostanol saponins from the seeds of Indian Trigonella foenum-graecum L. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo), 45, pp. 81-87.
66. Venkatesan, N., Devaraj, SN and Devaraj, H. (2003) Increased binding of LDL and VLDL to apo B,E receptors of hepatic plasma membrane of rats treated with Fibernat. Eur J Nutr, 42:5, pp. 262-271.
67. Shishodia, S. and Aggarwal, BB (2003) Diosgenin inhibits osteoclastogenesis, invasion, and proliferation through the downregulation of Akt, I kappa B kinase activation and NF-kappa B-regulated gene expression. Oncogene, 25:10, pp. 1463-1473.
68. Ruby, BC, Gaskill, SE, Slivka, D. and Harger, SG (2005) The addition of fenugreek extract (Trigonella foenum-graecum) to glucose feeding increases muscle glycogen resynthe-sis after exercise. Amino Acids, 28, pp. 71-76.
69. Vats, V., Yadav, SP and Grover, JK (2003) Effect of T. foenumgraecum on glycogen content of tissues and the key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism. J Ethnopharmacol, 85:23, pp. 237-242.
70. Yadav, SK and Sehgal, S. (2003) Effect of domestic processing and cooking methods on total, HC1 extractable iron and in vitro availability of iron in bathua and fenugreek leaves. Nutr Health, 17, pp. 61-63.
71. Bartley, GB, Hilty, MD, Andreson, BD, Clairmont, AC and Maschke, SP (2008) "Maple-syrup" urine odor due to fenugreek ingestion. N Engl J Med, 305:8, p. 467.
72. Topaloglu, AK, Zeller, WP Andersen, BD et al. (1996) Maternal fenugreek ingestion simulating maple syrup urine odor in the infant. Ann Med Sci, 5, pp. 41-42.
73. Singh, UP, Singh, DP, Maurya, S., Maheshwari, R., Singh, M., Dubey, RS and Singh, RB (2004) Investigation on the phenolics of some spices having pharmacotherapeuthic properties. J Herb Pharmacother, 4:4, pp. 27-42.
74. Hooda, S. and Jood, S. (2003) Physicochemical, rheological, andorganoleptic characteristics of wheat-fenugreek supplemented blends. Nahrung, 47:4, pp. 265-268.
75. Ribes, G., Sauvaire, Y., Baccou, JC, Valette, G., Chenon, D., Trimble, ER and Loubatieres-Mariani, MM (1984) Effects of fenugreek seeds on endocrine pancreatic secretions in dogs. Ann Nutr Metab, 28, pp. 37-43.
76. Ribes, G., Sauvaire, Y., Da Costa, C., Baccou, JC and Loubatieres-Mariani, MM (1986) Antidiabetic effects of subfractions from fenugreek seeds in diabetic dogs. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med, 182:2, pp. 159-166.
77. Sidhu, GS and Oakenfull, DG (1986) A mechanism for the hypocholesterolaemic activity of saponins. Br J Nutr, 55:3, pp. 643-649.
78. Zhao, HQ, Qu, Y., Wang, XY, Lu, XY, Zhang, XH and Hattori, M. (2003) [Determination of trigonelline by HPLC and study on its pharmacokinetics]. Yao Xue Xue Bao, 38:4, pp. 279-282.
79. Hooda, S. and Jood, S. (2004) Nutritional evaluation of wheat-fenugreek blends for product making. Plant Foods Hum Nutr, 59:4, pp. 149-154.
80. Negi, PS and Roy, SK (2003) Changes in beta-carotene and ascorbic acid content of fresh amaranth and fenugreek leaves during storage by low cost technique. Plant Foods Hum Nutr, 58:3, pp. 225-230.
81. Srinivasan, K. (2005) Plant foods in the management of diabetes mellitus: Spices as beneficial antidiabetic food adjuncts. Int J Food Sci Nutr, 56:6, pp. 399-414.
82. Gupta, A., Gupta, R. and Lai, B. (2001) Effect of Trigonellafoenum-graecum (fenugreek) seeds on glycaemic control and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus: A double blind placebo controlled study. J Assoc Physicians India, 49, pp. 1057-1061.
83. Neeraja, A. and Pajyalakshmi, P. (1996) Hypoglycemic effect of processed fenugreek seeds in humans. J Food Sci Technol, 33:5, pp. 427-430.
84. Sharma, RD, Raghuram, TC and Dayasagar Rao, V (1991) Hypolipidaemic effect of fenugreek seeds. Phytother Res, 3:5, pp. 145-147.
85. Sowmya, P. and Rajyalakshmi, P. (1999) Hypocholesterolemic effect of germinated fenugreek seeds in human subjects. Plant Foods Hum Nutr, 53:4, pp. 359-365.