VOLUME 19 NUMBER 2 • November 2022 29 SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE REVIEW The use of fenugreek in ameliorating hyperglycaemia and diabetes Correspondence to: Dr Chandralekha Mohan Department of Family Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban e-mail: docmohan7@gmail.com S Afr J Diabetes Vasc Dis 2022; 19: 29–32 Introduction Fenugreek is Trigonella foenum graecum. Trigonella is a Greek word meaning ‘little triangle’, due to its yellowish-white triangular flowers. Fenugreek is one of the oldest medicinal plants from the Fabaceae family. Its origins can be traced back to 4000 BC in Central Asia.1 Its description and benefits have been reported in the Ebers Papyrus, one of the most ancient medicinal documents in 1500 BC in Egypt.2 Fenugreek is commercially grown in India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Egypt, France, Morocco, Spain, China, Turkey, North Africa, Italy, Pakistan, Ukraine and Argentina.3 It grows well under a wide range of conditions, and is moderately tolerant of drought and high salinity. The nutritional constituents of fenugreek include fibre, phospholipids, glycolipids, oleic acid, linolenic acid, linoleic acid, CHANDRALEKHA MOHAN Abstract Diabetes mellitus is one of the most debilitating noncommunicable diseases of the century. It has an increasing prevalence worldwide. It is predicted that by 2040, more than half a billion people globally will suffer from diabetes. One of the main ways to prevent diabetes is to eat healthily. It is well known that patients with chronic diseases add supplements to their treatment regimens. During the last four decades, cellular and animal studies have reported convincing evidence to show that fenugreek has hypoglycaemic and lipid-lowering properties in prediabetics, and in insulin-dependent and non-insulindependent diabetics. Fenugreek has a protective effect against diabetic complications through immunomodulation, stimulation of insulin secretion and antioxidant properties, inhibition of inflammation in adipose tissues, enhancing adipocyte differentiation, and by preventing pancreatic and renal damage. There are four bio-active components that are present in fenugreek, which are beneficial in ameliorating the effects of hyperglycaemia and diabetes. They are an amino acid, 4-hydroxyisoleucine, diosgenin, saponins, and the fibre in fenugreek. This article reviews the scientific evidence relative to the use of fenugreek in ameliorating hyperglycaemia and diabetes. choline, vitamins A, B1, B2, C, nicotinic acid and niacin.4 The seeds, leaves, powder extracts and oils of the fenugreek plant are used extensively throughout the world as foods, in spices, and as traditional medicine5,6 (Table 1, Fig. 1). Fenugreek is known by different names in the world: methi in India, dari in Iran, hulba in Arabia, heyseed in England, moshoseitaro in Greece, hu lu ba in China and shoot in Israel. Table 1. Therapeutic and other uses of fenagreek Other uses Therapeutic benefits Food Non-food anticarcinogenic bread making cosmetics antiviral vegetable dyes antimicrobial food gum insect repellent anticholesterolaemic flavouring agent paints antihypertensive forage perfumes antioxidant alcoholic beverages fumigant galactogogue syrups emmolient laxative androgenic and anabolic effect in males Fig. 1. Fenugreek seeds, plant and powder. The role of fenugreek in diabetes and dyslipidaemia Various animal and human studies over the last four decades have shown that treatment with fenugreek was associated with lessening of the glucose tolerance curve, improvement in the glucoseinduced insulin response, and reduction in insulin resistance7 (Table 2). These effects were mainly due to 4-hydroxyisoleucine, isolated from fenugreek seeds (Fig. 2).
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