Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum) is a herb that is thought to possess a number of beneficial health effects in humans and animals. Fenugreek contains an alkaloid trigonelline and an essential oil that is made up of a mixture of volatile and nonvolatile compounds. Whole extracts of fenugreek have been shown to have blood glucose lowering effects in animal models. For example, in one study researchers administered fenugreek extract to normal healthy rats as well as diabetic rats. The doses of the fenugreek extracts were 2 or 8 grams per kg of body weight, and the rats were supplemented with these extracts for 2 weeks. Compared to the control rats who received no fenugreek, the treatment rats experienced significant falls in resting levels of blood glucose with the effects becoming greater at higher doses and at the 2 week compared to 1 week time point. This suggests that fenugreek has significant blood glucose lowering effects in animals and supports the traditional role of fenugreek as an anti-diabetic agent.
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Khosla, P., Gupta, D. D. and Nagpal, R. K. 1995. Effect of Trigonella foenum graecum (Fenugreek) on blood glucose in normal and diabetic rats. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. 39: 173-173
