Benefits of Fenugreek

Trigonella foenum-graecum
Papilionaceae
Names: Fenugreek

What is fenugreek? Fenugreek is one of the world’s oldest medicinal herbs. It has a variety of uses, including increasing breast milk production.

Habitat: North Africa, India, cultivated worldwide. Fenugreek is indigenous to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, but it is grown in India, Morocco, Egypt and England. The herb can grow to be about two feet tall. It blooms white flowers in the summer and has very aromatic seeds.

Part Used: Seeds, Leaves, and/or Sprouts

Constituents:
* Volatile oil containing 3-hydroxy-4, 5-dimethyl-2-furanone, dihydrobenzofuran, dihydroactinidiolide, muurolene, elemene, selinene
* Alkaloids including trigonelline, gentianine and carpaine
* Saponins based mainly on the sapogenins diosgenin and its isomer yamogenin, gitogenin and tigogenin
* Flavonoids including vitexin and its glycosides and esters, isovitexin, orientin, vicenins l and 2, quercetin and luteolin
* Mucilage, mostly a galactomannan

Actions: Expectorant, demulcent, vulnerary, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, tonic, emmenagogue, galactagogue, hypotensive.

Ranking Health Concerns
Primary:
~Diabetes
~High Triglycerides

Secondary:
~Atherosclerosis
~High Cholesterol
~Other Constipation

Fenugreek sprouts are considered to be an herbal digestive aid. You can add fenugreek seeds to your sprouting mixtures. They grow quickly and combine best with fast-growing legumes like mung beans or moth beans (moth beans are a small, brown legume available in Indian stores). Exposing fenugreek sprouts to sunlight alters the taste substantially; try them both ways to see which you prefer. Fenugreek sprouts are also good for the liver and nervous system.

Indications – Fenugreek is an herb that has an ancient history. It was rarely used in Britain during the hay day of herbal medicine due to difficulties in obtaining the spice. Since becoming easily available it has often been overlooked because herbal tradition rarely mentioned it. For a comprehensive discussion of Fenugreek, you must refer to an herbal or materia medica of Ayurvedic medicine. Its limited use in Britain demonstrates its value as a vulnerary and reducing inflammation in conditions such as wounds, boils, sores, fistulas and tumours. It can be taken to help bronchitis and gargled to ease sore throats. Its bitterness explains its role in soothing disturbed digestion. It is a strong stimulator of milk production in mothers, for which it is perfectly safe, and has a reputation for stimulating the development of the breasts.

Traditional Uses – Fenugreek seeds are ground and used to flavour to curry. The seeds are also soaked and then powdered and used to make lip balm and tonic. The seeds can be used to make tea, which can reduce fever and menstrual pains, or they can be used in an ointment to treat skin infections. The seeds have also been used to increase libido in men and serve as an aphrodisiac. Ground seeds are often used to give a maple flavour to sweets and candies. Ground seeds are also used to flavour cattle food, including different vegetable meals and hays. Fenugreek 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 in history – The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans used Fenugreek for medicinal and culinary purposes. According to Kathleen E. Huggins, RN, MS, and Director of the Breastfeeding Clinic at San Luis Obispo General Hospital, fenugreek was one of the major ingredients of Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, a popular 19th-century cure-all for “female complaints.” A wide range of uses was found for fenugreek in ancient times. Medicinally, it was used for the treatment of wound abscesses, arthritis, bronchitis, and digestive problems. Traditional Chinese herbalists used it for kidney problems and conditions affecting the male reproductive tract. Fenugreek was and remains a food and a spice commonly eaten in many parts of the world.

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.

AYURVEDIC ENERGETIC USES:
PART USED: Seeds
ELEMENT: Water
TASTE: bitter, pungent, sweet
VIPAKA: pungent
ENERGETICS: heating/ pungent
DOSHAS: VK-P+
SYSTEMS: digestive, respiratory, urinary, reproductive
TISSUES: plasma, blood, marrow, and nerve, reproductive
PROPERTIES & ACTIONS:
Drying, useful for fevers and arthritis, increases Vata & Pitta if taken in Excess. Decreases Kapha.

PREPARATION AND DOSAGE:
-decoction, powder (250 mg to 1 g or ½ teaspoonfuls of seeds) to increase milk production, gently simmer l l/2 teaspoonfuls of the seeds in a cup of water for l0 minutes. -tincture: take l-2ml of the tincture three times a day. Drink a cup three times a day.
-paste & poultice: for external use, the seeds should be pulverized to make a poultice.
-gruel
-tea: to make a more pleasant drink, add l teaspoonful of Aniseed to this mixture.

SIDE EFFECTS OR INTERACTIONS:
The use of more than 100 grams of fenugreek seeds daily can cause intestinal upset and nausea. Otherwise, fenugreek is extremely safe.

REFERENCES & CITATIONS:
Citations from the Medline database for the genus Trigonella
Fenugreek, Abdo MS al-Kafawi AA Experimental studies on the effect of Trigonella foenum-graecum.
Planta Med 1969 Feb; 17(1):14-8 Ahsan SK Tariq M Ageel AM al-Yahya MA Shah AH Effect of Trigonella foenum-graecum and Ammi majus on calcium oxalateurolithiasis in rats.
J Ethnopharmacol 1989 Oct; 26(3):249-54Ajabnoor MA Tilmisany AK Effect of Trigonella foenum graceum on blood glucose levels in normal and alloxan-diabetic mice.
J Ethnopharmacol 1988 Jan; 22(1):45-9Elmadfa I Koken M [Effect of vitamin E and protein quality on the hemolytic effect of Trigonella sapogenins in rats]
Z Ernahrungswiss 1980 Dec; 19 (4):280-9 (Published in German)Ghafghazi T Sheriat HS Dastmalchi T Barnett RC Antagonism of cadmium and alloxan-induced hyperglycemia in rats by Trigonella foenum graecum.
Pahlavi Med J 1977 Jan;8(1):14-25 Mishkinsky JS Goldschmied A Joseph B Ahronson Z Sulman FG Hypoglycaemic effect of Trigonella foenum graecum and Lupinus termis (Leguminosae) seeds and their major alkaloids in alloxan-diabetic and normal rats.