Fenugreek

Scientific Name(S): Trigonella foenum-graecum L. Family: Leguminosae

Common Name(S): Fenugreek

Fenugreek is one of the world's oldest medicinal herbs.  It has a variety of uses, including increasing breastmilk production.

Botany: Fenugreek spice is commonly sold as the dried ripe seed. The plant is an annual that is native to Asia and southeastern Europe.

History: The European herb fenugreek has been used for centuries as a cooking spice and has been used in folk medicine for almost as long. The herb has been used in folk medicine in the treatment of boils, diabetes, cellulitis and tuberculosis. Extracts of the seeds are used to flavor maple syrup substitutes. The seeds are rich in protein and the plant is grown as an animal forage. Following commercial extraction of diosgenin (which is used as a natural precursor in commercial steroid synthesis), the nitrogen and potassiumrich seed residue is used as an agricultural fertilizer.

Uses of Fenugreek

Fenugreek has been used as a flavoring, animal forage, insect repellent and folk medicine for boils, diabetes and tuberculosis. In lab animals, it has been shown to lower blood cholesterol and glucose, and to exert anti-inflammatory and diuretic effects.

Fenugreek's leaves, which are high in iron, are used in salads.  Taken internally, fenugreek is used to treat bronchitis, coughs, respiratory problems, sinus conditions and to increase milk supply

Fenugreek and breastfeeding - Fenugreek seeds contain hormone precursors that increase milk supply.  Scientists do not know for sure how this happens.  Some believe it is possible because breasts are modified sweat glands, and fenugreek stimulates sweat production.  It has been found that fenugreek can increase a nursing mother's milk supply within 24 to 72 hours after first taking the herb.  Once an adequate level of milk production is reached, most women can discontinue the fenugreek and maintain the milk supply with adequate breast stimulation.  Many women today take fenugreek in a pill form (ground seeds placed in capsules). The pills can be found at most vitamin and nutrition stores and at many supermarkets and natural foods stores.  Fenugreek can also be taken in tea form, although tea is believed to be less potent than the pills and the tea comes with a bitter taste that can be hard to stomach.

Side Effects of Fenugreek

Unusual quantities may result in hypoglycemia.

Toxicology: When ingested in usual culinary quantities, fenugreek is essentially devoid of adverse reactions. An interesting syndrome was noted in a nine-day-old boy who was admitted to the hospital for the treatment of gastroenteritis. Nurses noted that the boy's urine and entire body smelled distinctly of maple syrup. Laboratory tests ruled out the presence of "maple syrup urine" disease (an inborn error of metabolism that results in the abnormal accumulation of leucine, isoleucine and valine and their ketoacid metabolites in the blood and urine).

The mother told the physicians that she had been giving the child a tea prepared by boiling fenugreek seeds in water, a common Ethiopian folk remedy for diarrhea and vomiting. The smell of the tea was found to be indistinguishable from that of the child's urine.

Summary: Fenugreek seeds are used as a culinary spice and their extracts as flavorings. Folk uses include the treatment of boils, diabetes, cellulitis, tuberculosis and gastrointestinal problems. Investigations in animals have found the seeds to reduce serum cholesterol and glucose levels. It is not known if these effects are due to the high fiber content or to the saponins or alkaloids found in the seed. Studies continue to elucidate the mechanism of fenugreek's abilities to lower cholesterol and glucose levels. Recent studies also show the ability of the plant to decrease the quantity of calcium oxalate deposited in the kidneys.