Scientific Name: Trigonella foenum – graceum L

Scientific Name(s) :
Trigonella foenum – graceum L.
Local Name(s) :
Arabic Name(s):
Helba
Helba, Basbasa, Hulba
Common Name(s):
Fenugreek
Family:
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Sub-Family :
Papilionaceae
Whole Plant
Seeds
Description :
Annual herb 50-70 cm high. Glabrous or pubescent, stem erect. Leaves trifoliate,
stipules triangular,; leaflets obovate to oblong, 10-30 mm long, 5-15 mm wide, obtuse
to truncate at apex, narrowed towards the base; margins shallowly serrate to dentate;
glabrous. Infloresences short, axillary racemes; flowers small , white or cream, sessile
or subsessile, solitary or paired, 13-18 mm long. Fruits sickle-shaped, glabrous pods ,
6-10(15) cm long, 3-5 mm wide, sub cylindrical ,tapering to a straight beak 2-3 cm
long. Seeds 3-6, oblong compressed, smooth, dark yellow to light brown when dry.
Habitat & Distribution:
The plant is generally distributed in North Africa, Eastern Mediterranean and is
cultivated all over the world and naturally grows in sandy, silty and clay soils. In
UAE it is cultivated in private farms.
Part(s) Used:
Seeds and aerial parts
Traditional & Medicinal Uses :
The plant is tonic, emollient, lactagogue, nutritive, stomachic, diuretic, carminative,
emmenagogue, condiment, aphrodisiac, expectorant, antidiabetic, anabolic, appetizer,
insect repellent. Used orally to treat cough, asthma, dysuria, constipation,
hemorrhoids, diarrhea, gastrointestinal problems, impotency, backache, bladder &
liver problems; and topically to treat tonsillitis , throat infections, swellings,
abscesses, tumors and burns, scalp infection and dandruff and for hair and skin care
& beauty. Fenugreek is a good sourse of sex hormones thus used for impotency and
menopause.
Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry
Parts used : Seeds
Microscopic Description :
The widest surfaces are marked by a groove that divides the seed into two unequal
parts. The smaller part contains the radicle, the larger part contains the cotyledons.
The seed testa is covered with a thick cuticle. The epidermis of the testa is composed
of compact polygonal cells that have palisade-like shapes and straight cell walls and
they contain a yellowish brown pigment. The epidermis is underlain by a single layer,
the hypodermis, which is composed of characteristic colourless cells that have rodlike thickenings. The hypodermis is underlain by few layers of thin walled compact
parenchyma cells. These are followed by the outer-most layer of the seed endosperm
which has thick-walled cells. These cells are surrounding the endosperm mucilage
cells. The cotyledons have compact parenchyma cells with thin cells walls.
The powder is yellowish-brown. Under the microscope the powder shows fragments
of the testa in sectional view with thick cuticle covering palisade- like epidermal cells
with an underlying hypodermis of large cells, narrow at the upper end and constricted
in the middle, with bar-like thickening of the radial walls.(DPS ZCHRTM
Unpub.Results)
a
b
c
(a). Surface view for the epidermal cells of the testa from below showing the
compactly packed cells. (b). The hypodermis of the testa in surface view from above.
(c). Layers of rod-like parenchyma cells of the palisade tissues of the cotyledons in
sectional view. ( Magnifications: All x 400).
Organoleptic characteristics:
Appearance:
Solid- rhomboidal seeds
Colour :
Yellowish brown-light brown
Odour :
Specific of its own
Taste :
Bitter
Physicochemical constants:
Loss in weight on drying at 1050C (%):
5.80-7.00
Solubilities ( % )
Alcohol solubility:
Water solubility :
10% ethanolic extractive:
6.4
Not possible
Not done
Ash values (%)
Total ash:
Water soluble ash:
Acid-insoluble ash :
3.50—6.00
1.88-2.78
0.42-1.50
Successive extractive (%)
Petroleum ether (60-800C):
Chloroform:
Absolute alcohol:
Distilled water:
6.83
0.54
8.20
5.80-6.00
pH values
pH of 1% solution :
Not possible
pH of 10% solution :
Not possible
The above results are under process of publication( DPS ZCHRTM Unpub. Results).
Chemical constituents:
Fenugreek seed contains
carbohydrates, mainly mucilaginous fibre (galacto
mannans); proteins, fixed oils (lipids), alkaloids, mainly trigonelline, gentianine,
flavonoids, apigenin, luteolin, orientin quercetin, vitexin & isovitexin. Free amino
acids as 4-OH-isoleucine. Vitamins A, B & C, saponins and steroids . ( DPS,
ZCHRTM Unpub. results).
Pharmacology and Toxicological studies:
Trigonella foenum graecum (Fenugreek) was investigated in alloxan induced
subdiabetic and overtly diabetic rabbits of different severities. A sustained
hypoglycemic effect was observed (Puri et. al., 2002). T. foenum graecum showed a
stimulatory effect on immune functions in mice. (Bin Hafeez et. al., 2003). One
hundred infested patients (90 females and 10 males) with different age and hair length
were treated with mixed cream from plants Lawsonia alba L., Trigonella foenumgracanum (Fenugreek), Hibiscus cannabinus and Artemisia cina . The head lice
completely disappeared within a week among those patients treated by Lawsonia
mixed with aqueous extract of sheath (100%) or mixed with helba (75%) or with
karkada (50%). (El-Basher and Faoud, 2002). Beneficial effects of Trigonella
seedshave been demonstrated in diabetic animals and both insulin-dependent and noninsulin-dependent diabetic subjects (Al-Habori et. al., 2001). Findings indicate that
Trigonella seed may prove to be effective in the treatment of thyroxine-induced
hyperglycaemia.. (Tahiliani et. al., 2003). The extract also showed a positive effect on
glucose disposition in glucose fed hyperglycemic rats. (Vats et al., 2002). The
aqueous extract of Trigonella effectively reduced blood glucose in normal subjects
safely. Its hypokalaemic effect merits further investigation (Adel-Barry et. al., 2000).
Trigonella seed powder lowered the glucose level to almost control values. The
effects of insulin and vanadate were comparable in restoring normoglycemia and the
creatine kinase activities. (Genet, Kale, et. al., 1999). Chronic administration of
Trigonella seed extract enhances food consumption and motivation to eat in rats and
also induces hyperinsulinemia as well as hypocholesterolemia. (Petit et. Al., 1993).
The results indicate that the Trigonella foenum-graecum leaves extract possess antiinflammatory as well as antipyretic properties following both i.p. and p.o.
administration. The possibility of alkaloids as antidiabeticcompounds, in this extract,
is suggested (Ahmadiani et. al., , 2001).The extract of Trigonella leaves produces
antinociceptive effects through central and peripheral mechanisms (Javan., 1997).
The study was carried to determine the acute toxicity of the leaf glycosidic extract of
Trigonealla by estimation of its medium lethal dose (LD 50). It is concluded that the
glycosidic extract of Trigonella leaves is considered to be safe and have minimal
adverse effect (Abdel-Barry and Al-Hakiem. 2000). The plant did not produce any
significant acute and cumulative toxicity at the doses administered, as reflected by the
various toxicity parameters investigated (Muralidhara, et. al., 1999).
The pharmacological and toxicological studies carried out in our laboratory and
the results in brief, on Trigonella foenum-graecum (Aqueous extract) have been
given below. The results presented without references showed unpublished data
(UPD, ZCHRTM, DBMS):
ACTIVITY
RESULTS
Anti-diabetic activity-GTT acute
Extract did not show significant
hypoglycaemic
Anti-diabetic activity-GTT sub
acute
Extract did not show any hypoglycaemic
activity
Anti-diabetic activity-STZ-acute
Extract did not improve glucose tolerance
Anti-diabetic activity-STZsubacute
Extract did not improve glucose tolerance
Anti-diabetic activity-STZ and
GTT
Glbenclamide as positive standard showed
glucose lowering effect in both the models
studied
Cardiotonic activity & HRIsolated rat atria
No effect on force or rate of contraction were
observed.
Effect on GIT smooth MuscleIsolated rabbit jejunum
Transient initial increase in amplitude which
was normalized.
Effect on GIT smooth MuscleIsolated rat fundus
Extract produced no significant effect.
Gross behavioral studiesTremor/Twitches
No tremors and twitches observed.
Gross behavioral studies-Writhing No abnormal signs and symptoms.
Gross behavioral studiesDiarrhea, Urination
No diarrhea observed.
Mortality
No mortality recorded.
Motor co-ordination (String &
Platform test)
Motor co-ordination not affected.
Acute toxicity studies-
No toxic signs and symptoms observed, at
the dose tested.
Summary of the results:
Various studies have been made on Trigonella foenum graceum (Fenugreek) using
alkaloid rich fraction, steroid saponin containing extract, defatted seed powder, and
sub-fraction of the seeds. The hypoglycaemic activity has been reported to produce a
modest and transient hypoglycemic effect in healthy and mildly diabetic animals. The
results have been attributed to fiber content and delayed intestinal absorption of
glucose. In the present study aqueous extract of the seeds was screened for
hypoglycaemic activity in both the models studied. Further studies are needed to work
on sub-fractions of the seeds and also on acetone, CCI 4 and other possible extracts to
confirm the hypoglycemic activity.
The extract did not show cardiotonic activity. The haematolytic activity reported in
the literature was not confirmed in our experiment. The acute and sub-acute
administration of the extract in mice at the dose tested showed no major signs and
symptoms of toxicity and produced no mortality. However, acute administration of
higher dose showed mild, but transient abnormal symptoms.
Reference:
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Abdel-Barry JA, Abdel-Hassan IA, Jawad AM, Al-Hakiem MH. (2000)
Hypoglycaemic effect of aqueous extract of the leaves of Trigonella foenumgraecum in healthy volunteers. East Mediterr Health J. 6(1): 83-8.
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Abdel-Barry JA, Al-Hakiem MH. (2000) Acute intraperitoneal and oral
toxicity of the leaf glycosidic extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum in mice. J
Ethnopharmacol. 70(1): 65-8.
Ahmadiani A, Javan M, Semnanian S, Barat E, Kamalinejad M. ( 2001)
Anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects of Trigonella foenum-graecum
leaves extract in the rat. J Ethnopharmacol. 75(2-3): 283-6.
Al-Habori M, Raman A, Lawrence MJ, Skett P. (2001) In vitro effect of
fenugreek extracts on intestinal sodium-dependent glucose uptake and hepatic
glycogen phosphorylase A. Int J Exp Diabetes Res. 2(2): 91-9.
Andrews, F.W. The Flowering Plants of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan;
(1950&1952) vol 1+II; Arbroath, Scotland.
Binhafeez et al. (2003) Immunomodulatory effects of fenugreek (Trigonella
foenum graecum L.) extract in mice. Int Immunopharmacol. 3(2): 257-65.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Zyed Complex for Herbal Research and
Traditional Medicine, Unpublished results.
Department of Pharmacognostic Sciences, Zyed Complex for Herbal
Research and Traditional Medicine ( ZCHRTM ), unpublished results .
El-Basheir ZM, Fouad MA. (2002) A preliminary pilot survey on head lice,
pediculosis in Sharkia Governorate and treatment of lice with natural plant
extracts. J Egypt Soc Parasitol. 32(3): 725-36.
Genet S, Kale RK, Baquer NZ. (1999) Effects of vanadate, insulin and
fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) on creatine kinase levels in tissues of
diabetic rat. Indian J Exp Biol. 37(2): 200-2.
Ghazanfar, S. A. Handbook of Arabian Medicinal Plants.(1994) Library of
Congress.
Javan M, Ahmadiani A, Semnanian S, Kamalinejad M. (1997)
Antinociceptive effects of Trigonella foenum-graecum leaves extract. J
Ethnopharmacol. 58(2): 125-9.
Mabey R. et al. The New Age Herbalist. (1988) Gaia, Book Ltd., London.
Mandaville, J. P. Flora of Eastern Saudi Arabia. (1990) Kegan Paul
International Ltd. England.
Muralidhara, Narasimhamurthy K, Viswanatha S, Ramesh BS. (1999)
Acute and subchronic toxicity assessment of debitterized fenugreek powder in
the mouse and rat. Food Chem Toxicol. 37(8): 831-8.
Petit P, Sauvaire Y, Ponsin G, Manteghetti M, Fave A, Ribes G. (1993)
Effects of a fenugreek seed extract on feeding behaviour in the rat: metabolicendocrine correlates. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 45(2): 369-74.
Puri D, Prabhu KM, Murthy PS. (2002) Mechanism of action of a
hypoglycemic principle isolated from fenugreek seeds. J Physiol Pharmacol.
46(4): 457-62.
Tahiliani P, Kar A. (2003) Mitigation of thyroxine-induced hyperglycaemia
by two plants extracts. Phytother Res. 17(3): 294-6.
Vats V, Grover JK, Rathi SS (2002) Evaluation of anti-hyperglycemic and
hypoglycemic effect of Trigonella foenum-graecum Linn, Ocimum sanctum
Linn and Pterocarpus marsupium Linn in normal and alloxanized diabetic rats.
J Ethnopharmacol. 79(1): 95-100.