Dr. Banarsi Lal
Fenugreek is commonly known as “Methi” and its botanical name is Trigonella foenumgraecum. It is a popular ingredient in many North and South Indian dishes and home remedies. Traditional herbal medicines are attracting more and more attention due to the increasing awareness on the hazardous side effects of the synthetic drugs. One of the prominent among them is fenugreek, which can be used as a spice as well as in ayurvedic medicine. Fenugreek has a light bitter taste with a pleasant flavour and is believed to be the antidote for a number of diseases and disorders such as diabetes, dysentery, labour pain, diarrhoea, dyspecia, tuberculosis, colic, flatulence, digestive disorders, gastric inflammation, painful menstruation, insufficient lactation, , libido in men, hernia, premature ejaculation, weight loss, anoreseia, poor appetite, back pain, bronchial complaints, gout, arthritis, ulcers, boils, eczema, various types of fever including malaria, sore throat, different kinds of skin diseases etc. It reduces serum cholesterol and triglycerides and increase hemoglobin content of blood. Besides, it also contains high quantities of iron and thus can be used for the treatment of anaemia.
Fenugreek seeds and leaves are rich in proteins and have less fat. Its biological as well as pharmacological actions are attributed to the varieties of its chemical constituents, including various steroids, aminoacids, n-compounds, polyphenolic substances, alkaloids, proteins, lipids and volatile constituents. Fenugreek is particularly rich in the steroidal sapogenin called diosgenin, which along with its epimers are the precursors of a number of steroids like some sex hormones and oral contraceptives. The content can be as high as 65mg percent to 75 mg percent depending upon the varieties and ecological factors.
A number of sterols are present in all parts of the fenugreek plant. These include B-sitosterol and small amounts of cholesterol. Recently, six triterpenoids such as lupeol, 3L-norcycloartanol, betulin, betulinic acid, soyasaponin and soyasaponin methyl ester have been isolated and identified from the ethanolic extract of the seeds. These are also rich in flavonoids like quercetin along with luteolin, quercetin, vitexin, vitexin-7-O-glucoside, arabinoside of orientin, iso-orientin and vicenin-1 in substantial quantities.
All these and some more have been extracted and identified in the alcoholic extracts of the stems as well as the seeds. The anti-bacterial activities of fenugreek are said to be due to these flavanoids. These are also considered to have healthy effects on heart and have anti-cancer properties. Different varieties of fenugreek accumulate different phytoalexins in different quantities.
Those include pterocarpan and isoflavan (vestitol and sativan) derivatives. Besides, hydroxylated pterocarpan and traces of three pterocarpan precursors, namely, isoflavone, formononetin, flavanone liquiritigenin and chalcone isoliquiritigenin are also found along with those in a few varieties. All of these have active biological properties that cure several diseases and disorders and boost resistance against them.
The phenlic compounds present in fenugreek are cholorogenic, scopoletin, caffeic and p-coumaric acids in its root, shoot and pod, while its leaf and stem contain scopletin and lignan ?schisandrin. Similarly, hymecromone (4-methyl-7-acetoxycoumarin) has been isolated from a whole plant extract and the stems are found to have hymecromone, phenolic compounds like (E)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2- propenoic acid or p-coumaric acid and trigoforin (3, 4, 7- trimethyl-coumarin). They ensure not only healthy heart and boost immunity against several infective diseases but also have strong anti-rheumatic and anti-tumour properties. More than 50 volatile components have been detected in fenugreek, out of which 40 have been identified. These include n-alcanes, sesquiterpenes and other oxygenated compounds like n-hexenol, camphor, 2-heptanone, n-heptanone, aniline, phenol, heptanoic acid, undecane, dodecane, decanoic acid, thymol, 2-hexylfuran, tridecane etc. All these have various medicinal properties and serve as raw materials for the synthesis of several medicines.
The aroma of fenugreek seed is due to compounds like ?nonalactone and 5-methyl – ? – caprolactone and have strong olfactory properties. Besides, some other compounds belonging to n-lactane family also contribute to its aroma. A number of free aminoacids are present in fenugreek seed but hydroxyl isoleucine constitutes 80% of those. One of its isomers, 4-hydroxy isoleucin (2-amino-4-hydroxy-3-methyl pentanoic acid) is an insulin stimulant. Thus, fenugreek has been found to be useful for diabetic patients. It is an anti-diabetic and hypo cholesterolaemic activities and have also been linked to the saponin and high fibre content of it, which selectively reduce the low density lipids and very low density lipids fractions of total cholesterol and increase the high density lipid fraction in type-II diabetic individuals. In a recently conducted experiment, oral administration of fenugreek seed powder (5% of the diet) has been found to have marked effects on glycolytic, gluconeogenic and NADP – linked lipogenic enzymes in alloxan induced wistar rats. In diabetics, the activities of the glycolytic enzymes are significantly lower in the liver and higher in the kidney, while on the otherhand, the activities of gluconeogenic and lipogenic enzymes are higher and lower respectively in those organs. However, treatment with fenugreek seed powder reportedly can bring the activities of all these enzymes back to normal and can control blood sugar level within 21 days. Therefore, it has established the therapeutic role of fenugreek in type I diabetes, by normalizing the activities of glucose and lipid metabolizing enzymes.
According to recent researchers, the scientific studies conducted to establish the health promoting effectiveness of the herb are still inadequate. On the other hand, its chemical composition suggests that it may have a number of potential side effects such as, diarrhoea, gas, bloating, indigestion, heart burn and allergy, if taken in larger quantity. Besides, it contains compounds that make blood “thin”, which may enhance proneness to internal bleeding as do some drugs like aspirin or warfarin. Similarly, it may also increase the risk of hypoglycemia, when taken in combination with diabetes medicines. Besides, there is also the possibility that it may interact with certain drugs, an aspect which has not been studied properly. As fenugreek is traditionally used to stimulate labour, it should induce uterine contraction causing preterm labour and miscarriages, if taken earlier in pregnancy. Thus, pregnant ladies must be cautious while taking it as an antidote for any diseases. The researchers also point out that the medicinal dose and long term effects of fenugreek are yet to be established to clear it for use in modern medicines. Thus, more scientific research on the medicinal uses of the fenugreek should be conducted.
(The writer is Sr. Scientist & Head of KVK, Reasi SKUAST-J).
