Hypoglycaemic effect of fenugreek seeds in non-insulin dependent diabetic subjects

In Vitro Cytotoxic Activity of Seed Oil of Fenugreek Against Various Cancer Cell Lines

“…The seed oil of fenugreek was selected for this study, since fenugreek is commonly used as a spice in food preparations due to the strong flavour and aroma. The seeds are reported to have restorative and nutritive properties (Khosla et al, 1995), such as anti diabetic activity (Sharma et al, 1990), hepatoprotective activity (Thirunavukkarasu et al, 2003;Kaviarasan and Anuradha, 2007), and antioxidant properties against experimental cataract (Gupta et al, 2010). In recent research, fenugreek seeds were experimentally shown to protect against breast (Amin et al, 2005) and colon cancers (Raju et al, 2006).…”

“…Fenugreek seeds are used in remedies for diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia in Indian, Arabic and Chinese medicine. Its utility has also been proved experimentally in diabetic humans (Sharma et al, 1990). Hepatoprotective properties of fenugreek seeds in experimental models (Thirunavukkarasu et al, 2003;Kaviarasan and Anuradha, 2007) and antioxidant properties of fenugreek seeds against experimental cataract (Gupta et al, 2010) were also reported.…”

Medicinal plants for treatment of diabetes mellitus

“…Chemical analysis of the seeds reveals that they are composed of moisture 13%, protein 26%, fat 46%, fiber 7%, carbohydrate 4%, ash and vitamins 4% (45). Seeds of fenugreek are known to have antidiabetic effect (46)(47)(48). An alkaloid trigonelline present in seeds, counterected the hyperglycemic effect of cortisone in nondiabetic rabbits when administered concomitantly.…”

The Influence of Legume Seeds on Human Plasma Lipid Concentrations

“…In an exceptional case, Grande et al (1965) showed that the carbohydrate and protein components of mixed pulses were hypocholesterolaemic when substituted isoenergetically for sucrose and soya-bean protein, but in a later study were unable to demonstrate a hypocholesterolaemic effect of mixed pulses or chick peas substituted isoenergetically for combinations of sucrose, wheat flour, gluten and egg white (Grande et al 1974). In the study of Sharma & Raghuram (1990) chapatis made with defatted fenugreek flour reduced cholesterol levels compared with chapatis made with wheat flour and groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) protein. It is interesting to note that in two of these three studies pulses lowered cholesterol compared with products containing a legume protein and a non-legume carbohydrate source.…”