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Chapter 12
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.): An
Important Medicinal and Aromatic Crop
Peiman Zandi, Saikat Kumar Basu, William Cetzal-Ix,
Mojtaba Kordrostami,
Shahram Khademi Chalaras and
Leila Bazrkar Khatibai
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/66506
Provisional chapter
© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.): An
Important Medicinal and Aromatic Crop
Peiman Zandi, Saikat Kumar Basu, William
Cetzal-Ix, Mojtaba Kordrostami, Shahram
Khademi Chalaras and Leila Bazrkar Khatibai
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
Abstract
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is an annual forage legume and a traditional
spice and aromatic crop that has been grown for centuries across the Indian subcontinent.
In addition to South Asia, the crop is also grown in some parts of North Africa, Middle
East, Mediterranean Europe, China, South East (SE) Asia, Australia, the USA, Argentina
and Canada. The plant has been used traditionally in Indian Ayurvedic medicines as well
as in traditional Tibetan and Chinese medication for several centuries. Modern research
has also demonstrated that fenugreek seed and leaves are useful in the treatment of a num-
ber of diseases including successfully reducing blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels
in both animals and humans. The plant has recently aracted great interest in the pharma-
ceutical, nutraceutical and functional food industries due to its rich medicinal properties.
Keywords: fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum, spice, medicinal, aromatic, legume, crop
1. Introduction
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is an annual forage legume and a traditional spice
crop that has been grown for centuries across the Indian subcontinent [1–3]. In addition to
South Asia the crop is also grown in some parts of North Africa, Middle East, Mediterranean
Europe, China, South East (SE) Asia, Australia, the USA, Argentina and Canada. India is the
largest fenugreek producer in the world but due to high internal consumption do not have a
major share of the global fenugreek trade [1–3]. The crop has been recommended for the dry
and semiarid regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America [4]. The plant has been used tradition-
ally in Indian Ayurvedic medicines as well as in traditional Tibetan and Chinese medication
© 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
for several centuries. Modern research has also demonstrated that fenugreek seed and leaves
are useful in the treatment of a number of diseases including successfully reducing blood sugar
and blood cholesterol levels in both animals and human subjects in experimental trials [5]. The
crop has the potential to act as a panacea in treatment of diabetic, microbial and cancer disease.
The reason behind the rich medicinal properties of fenugreek is due to the presence of a wide
diversity of important phytochemicals (diosgenin, trigonelline, fenugreekine, galactomannan
and 4-hydroxy isoleucine [4]. Hence, the crop has huge international demand in the associated
pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and functional food industries. Being known as a chemurgic
crop, fenugreek has a widespread adoption in industrial sectors. Its seeds contain a reliable
source of steroid diosgenin, which acts as a supplement in pharmaceutical industry [6].
Furthermore, being a forage legume and a natural nitrogen xer, it could be easily incor-
porated in the local crop cycles (short-term rotation) for natural replenishment of soil, for
xation of nitrogen and for feeding the livestock as hay or silage (Figure 1). The crop grows
well under rainfed conditions and hence cost of production is lower compared to other com-
mercial crops suitable for semiarid regions.
Fenugreek is also well known as a global spice crop grown in all the major continents
(depending on soil and climatic conditions) across the globe including parts of North Africa,
Mediterranean Europe, Russia, Middle East, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, parts
of Far East and SE Asia, Australia, the USA, Canada and Argentina [7, 8]. India once main-
tained and still holds the largest fenugreek harvested area in the world [5].
Figure 1. Fenugreek crop in dierent growth stages (fenugreek seed, seed germination, seedling growth, vegetative-
immature and reproductive growth stages of stem formation, podding and physiological ripeness-mature (Image credit:
S.K. Basu).
Active Ingredients from Aromatic and Medicinal Plants208
The crop has been recommended for agricultural production in the dry and semiarid localities
of the continents of Asia, Africa and Latin America [3 4, 9, 10]. The plant has been used exten-
sively for centuries as a traditional forage crop in several ancient civilizations across Eurasia.
Fenugreek has been reported to be used as an important medicinal herb in Indian Ayurvedic
medicinal practices as well in traditional Chinese medication and Tibetan medicines for the
treatment of several diseases in humans and also in animals. Ancient Islamic scholars and
physicians have also recorded the use of fenugreek in traditional Islamic medicinal practices
in ancient texts and scriptures [9]. Modern clinical trials have also established without doubt
the ecacy of this medicinal herb in the treatment of several human and animal diseases
[5, 8, 11]. Relative frequencies of the major well-known accessions of fenugreek which are
produced all over the world are listed out in Table 1 [1].
Origin Number of reported
fenugreek accessions
Relative
frequency (%)
Average forage production 1961–2013
(tone/acre) per country
Afghanistan 27 2.48 >550,682
Algeria 2 0.18 3,835,860
Australia 7 0.64 2,868,759
Austria 1 0.09 1,539,297
Azerbaijan 1 0.09 624,045
Canada 54 4.95 >550,682
China 44 4.04 51,489,483
Egypt 16 1.47 >550,682
England 17 1.56 >550,682
Eritrea 1 0.09 >550,682
Ethiopia 152 13.94 >550,682
France 3 0.28 >550,682
Germany 4 0.37 7,445,345
Greece 6 0.55 >550,682
Hungary 3 0.28 >550,682
India 401 36.79 91,881,132
Iran 46 4.22 2,653,431
Iraq 7 0.64 230,685
Israel 3 0.28 >550,682
Italy 4 0.37 9,906,660
Jordan 5 0.46 30,439
Kenya 1 0.09 >550,682
Libya 5 0.46 573,678
Morocco 5 0.46 1,694,057
Nepal 2 0.18 >550,682
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.): An Important Medicinal and Aromatic Crop
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/66506
209
2. Medicinal properties and chemical constituents
Fenugreek leaves and seed are known to have major medicinal properties and have been
reported to signicantly reduce both blood glucose and cholesterol levels in human and ani-
mal subjects in clinical trials around the world [1]. Fenugreek is therefore highly sought after
as a chemurgic crop in the local, regional and international pharmaceutical, nutraceutical
and functional food industries and markets as a medicinal herb [12]. Fenugreek seed and
leaves are a rich source of a wide diversity of medicinally rich phytochemicals like steroi-
dal saponins (diosgenin), fenugreekine (alkaloid), galactomannan (carbohydrate), 4-hydroxy
isoleucine (amino acid) among several others [4, 7, 11, 12]. More specically, fenugreek seed
itself contain carbohydrates (45–60%) as in mucilaginous ber (galactomannans), proteins
(20–30%) enriched in tryptophan and lysine, lipids (5–10%) or xed oil, alkaloids of pyri-
dine type (0.2–0.38%) as in trigonelline; choline (0.5%), and other materials including carpa-
ine and gentianine, avonoids (apigenin, luteolin, orientin, quercetin, vitexin and isovitexin)
and 4-hydroxyisoleucine (0.09%), lysine and histidine, arginine, calcium and iron, saponins
Origin Number of reported
fenugreek accessions
Relative
frequency (%)
Average forage production 1961–2013
(tone/acre) per country
Oman 77 7.06 >550,682
Pakistan 41 3.76 13,819
Poland 2 0.18 7,142,332
Portugal 1 0.09 6,894,828
Romania 15 1.38 694,961
Russia 3 0.28 10,701,727
Slovenia 4 0.37 86,966
South Africa 1 0.09 >550,682
Spain 8 0.73 163,784
Sudan 10 0.92 1,187,407
Sweden 3 0.28 >550,682
Swierland 2 0.18 3,218,208
Syria 15 1.38 33,113
Taiwan 1 0.09 >550,682
Tunisia 42 3.85 >550,682
Turkey 40 3.67 >550,682
Turkmenistan 1 0.09 >550,682
U.S.A. 3 0.28 >550,682
Ukraine 1 0.09 475,316
Yemen 3 0.28 92,026
Table 1. Origin, number of registered and relative frequency of fenugreek crop distributed across the given countries.
Active Ingredients from Aromatic and Medicinal Plants210
(0.6–1.7%), glycosides such as, yamogenin, tigogenin, neotigogenin and diosgenin (generating
steroidal sapogenins on hydrolysis); and sitosterol and cholesterol, vitamins (A, B1, C) and
nicotinic acid; n-alkanes and sesquiterpenes (0.015%) known as volatile oils [6]. Fenugreek has
been also reported to be rich in antioxidant [13] and antimicrobial properties [14].
3. Agronomy
Agronomic production of fenugreek crop has been well studied and reported in arid and
semiarid regions of the world and has been well documented in primary literature [15–17].
Climatic and edaphic environmental (external condition) factors as well as genetic makeup
(internal condition) are greatly accounted for metabolic processes in fenugreek crop [18]. It
is also believed that the regulation of yield potential in fenugreek is feasible through either
breeding programs or modication of cultural treatments [18, 19]. Fenugreek crop growth has
been found to be signicantly increased by the application of phosphate fertilizer [20]. The
plant has indeterminate growth habit and hence mutant population generated through physi-
cal and chemical mutating agents have been reported to be successful in generating plants
with determinate and fast growing habits [11, 21]. The crop has been found to be aacked by
several biological agents like insects, fungi, bacteria and non-biological diseases like micronu-
trient deciency, ooding, salinity, stagnant water [22–24].
4. Species, names, origin and distribution
There are noticeable discrepancies in the range of reported species of fenugreek (around 70–97)
in the literature [25–29]; however, older taxonomies like Linnaeus have explicitly accentuated
on the existence of 260 species [1]. Across the mentioned species of fenugreek, the follow-
ing are mostly celebrated as for their medicinal and pharmaceutical properties [1]: T. foenum-
graecum, T. balansae, T. corniculata, T. maritima, T. spicata, T. occulta, T. polycerata, T. calliceras, T.
cretica, T. caerulea, T. lilacina, T. radiata, T. spinosa. Among which T. foenum-graecum is widely
cultivated throughout the world [30]. The genus name, Trigonella meaning ‘lile triangle’
resemble the triangular shape of its small yellowish-white owers. The species name foenum-
graecum meaning ‘Greek hay’ in reference to its initial introgression from Greece [1]. To date
dierent indigenous names have been ascribing to the plant depending on the nations, local
language and culture on which the crop is grown and/or consumed. For instance, fenugreek in
Arabic is called Hulba; in Persian called Shanbalilae; in Greek called Tili, Tipilina, Trigoniskos,
Tintelis, Tsimeni and Moschositaro; in Uzbekistani called Boidana, Ul’ba and Khul’ba; in
Armenian called Shambala; in Chinese called K’u-Tou; in Ethiopian called Abish; in Japanese
called Koroba; in England called fenugreek or Fenigrec; in Pakistani and Indian called Methi;
in Italian called Fieno Greco; in Russian called Pazhitnik; and in French called Senegre [30, 31].
Fenugreek is an ancient and multipurpose crop in various geographical latitudes. Species of
fenugreek have been identied in the ve continents of Asia, Africa, Europa and Australia;
being cultivated mostly in North America, West and South Asia, Australia, Russia, Meddle
East, North West of Africa. Potential areas for fenugreek production are parts of South East
Asia, Japan, Central Asia (Mongolia), wide parts of Africa and South America (Figure 2).
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.): An Important Medicinal and Aromatic Crop
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/66506
211
Figure 2. Illustrative map of word (A, B) showing currently grown and potential areas of fenugreek production.
Active Ingredients from Aromatic and Medicinal Plants212
There are widespread uncertainties regarding the probable ancestry of T. foenum-graecum
which are still unsolved. Though Vavilov [32] introduced the herb as a native species to the
Mediterranean region, on a contradictory statement De Candolle [33] and Fazli and Hardman
[34] suggested an Asian root for it. They also declared that fenugreek wildly grows in des-
erts of Mesopotamia, prolic plains of Persia, in Punjab and Kashmir of Pakistan, in middle
Asia, and in southern Europe like Greece, Italy and Spain that take advantage of abundant
sunshine. As described earlier by De Candolle [33], it is not a reasonable belief to consider
southern Europe as the main origin of fenugreek because if this was the case the plant should
be far more common not be remaining inconspicuous in this region.
Many experts unanimously agree that the direct wild ancestor of fenugreek is T. gladiata Ste.
that diers widely from T. foenum–graecum in view of the assemblage of aributes like smaller
pod size and abnormal seed tuberculation [35]. So it is likely acceptable to believe that the spe-
cies T. foenum graecum was naturally evolved from T. gladiata as it had possibly contributed to
prevent the extinction of T. foenum-graecum [30].
5. Chromosome number
There are many species in the Trigonella genus, many of which are diploid. Based on the
Darlington and Wylie [36] reports, haploid chromosome numbers of most species in the
Trigonella genus is 8, 9, 11 or 14 and diploid chromosome number is 2n = 16. For example, T.
foenum-graecum, T. balansae, T. corniculata, T. sprunerana Boiss., T. monspeliaca L., T. uncata, T.
anguina, T. stellata, T. astroites, T. gladiata, T. cariensis, T. berythea, T. macrorrhyncha, T. cassia, T.
foenum-graecum and T. homosa have 2n = 16 chromosomes [36–41]. However, there are some
exceptions. For instance, T. geminiora from Iran and Asia Minor, T. grandiora from Turkey
and T. hamosa from Egypt have 44 chromosomes; T. polycerata from the Mediterranean and
Asia have 28, 30 and 32 chromosomes, and T. ornithopodioides from Europe was reported to
have 18 chromosomes within its genome [30]. While most species in the Trigonella genus
have 2n = 16 chromosomes, the results of some studies show that some of species have
undergone several rounds of chromosome duplication and have dierent diploid number of
chromosomes. Singh and Singh [42] found some trisomics along with ve double trisomics
in an auto-tetraploid population which had 18 (2n + 1 + 1) chromosomes. They believed that
among 13 species of Trigonella, only T. neoana, have 2n = 30 chromosomes. Marc and Capraru
[43] studied cytogenetic eects of sodium phosphate on meristematic cells of fenugreek root
tips and found that it has a negative eect on the mitotic index. Roy and Singh [44] produced
tetraploid fenugreek by treating shoot apices with colchicine and Basu [1] also reported that
he had produced tetraploid fenugreek (2n + 2n = 32) by treating seeds with colchicine.
There are few studies about the variation in chromosome number in fenugreek. For instance,
Raghuvanshi and Joshi [45] and Joshi and Raghuvanshi [46] reported that there is an extra
B chromosome in some of the fenugreek genotypes. As far as we know, the presence of this
type of chromosome can aect plant growth and development [30]. In some researches, it is
observed that same species show dierent behaviors in terms of having B chromosome. For
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.): An Important Medicinal and Aromatic Crop
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/66506
213
example, some T. corniculata species do not contain B chromosome, while the other species
have this chromosome. For instance, Singh [47] and Singh and Singh [42] examined T. cornicu-
lata in some regions of India and did not observe B chromosomes in it, while Lakshmi et al.
[48] reported that T. corniculata contained two types of pollen mother cells: one with 2n = 16
and the other with 2n = 16+ B chromosomes.
6. Molecular genetic diversity
Knowledge of genetic diversity among plants can help to provide benecial information in
the selection of breeding materials for hybridization programs and mapping quantitative trait
loci [49]. Review of literatures show that using DNA markers for investigating the genetic
diversity of fenugreek does not have a long history in the world. Dangi et al. [50] studied
the genetic diversity of two dierent species of fenugreek (T. caerulea and T. foenum-graecum)
using Random Amplication of Polymorphic DNA’ (RAPD) and Inter Simple -Sequence
Repeats (ISSR) markers and showed that the genetic diversity in T. caerulea was much more
than the other species. They also recommended the using of these two methods for grouping
the genotypes and determine the genetic relationship among them.
Sundaram and Purwar [51] evaluated genetic diversity and species relation among two taxo-
nomically Trigonella species and 61 accession using 18 RAPD primers. These primers made
a total of 141 bands of which 74 were polymorphic. Genetic similarity of the genotypes
ranged between 0.66 and 0.90, indicating a moderate to high genetic diversity among the
populations. The dendrogram obtained from RAPD primers revealed two main clusters.
Each cluster had two separate subgroups. This investigation showed that RAPD marker
is a useful tool for the evaluation of genetic diversity and relationship among dierent
Trigonella species.
Kumar et al. [52] investigated the genetic diversity of ve common fenugreek varieties of India
using nine RAPD and seven uorescently labeled amplied fragment length polymorphism
(AFLP) primers. These RAPD primers produced a total of 47 bands in the size range of 200–
5000 bp with an average polymorphism of 62.4%. AFLP marker produced a total of 669 bands
in the size range of 50–538 bp. The results revealed that RAPD markers were more polymorphic
than AFLP markers where the reproducibility of AFLP markers was more than RAPD markers.
Ahari et al. [53] assessed the genetic diversity among and within 20 Iranian fenugreek landra-
ces using AFLP markers. Five AFLP primers combinations used in this study produced a total
of 147 bands within the molecular weights ranging from 50 to 500 base pairs of which 87%
were polymorphic. The results of polymorphism information content (PIC) showed that there
was a high polymorphism existed among Kashan (0.79), Broojerd and Kashan (to 0.93) land-
races, which shows the moderate and high genetic diversity among these populations. These
results demonstrated high eciency of AFLP markers for investigation the genetic diversity
among Iranian fenugreek populations.
Haliem and Al-Huqail [54] investigated the correlation between biochemical characteris-
tics such as acid phosphatase, and glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase isozymes, and
amino acid composition and molecular variations of seven wild T. foenum-graecum L.
Active Ingredients from Aromatic and Medicinal Plants214
accessions using RAPD markers. The molecular analysis revealed that RAPD markers
were highly polymorphic (94.12%) and can be used in the differentiation of the genotypes
effectively.
Al-Maamari et al. [55] investigated the genetic relationship of 20 Omani fenugreek accessions
and compare their relationship with four accessions from Iraq and Pakistan using 6 AFLP
primer combinations. A total of 1852 polymorphic loci were produced from these combina-
tions. A high level of genetic diversity (H) was found in Omani populations (0.2146) compared
to Pakistani (0.0844) and Iraqi (0.1620) populations. They concluded that the average level of
genetic variation among fenugreek populations shows their long history of cultivation and
frequent exchange of fenugreek genetic material among regions in Oman.
Hora et al. [56] studied the diversity and phylogenetic relationships of dierent varieties of
fenugreek (eight varieties and six populations) collected from northern India using RAPD
and ISSR markers. The high similarity coecient values suggested a diverse genetic diver-
sity in fenugreek populations in India. They concluded that these two molecular markers
(RAPD and ISSR) can be used eectively to evaluate genetic diversity and assess genetic
relationship.
7. Mutation breeding
Fenugreek becomes more important economically, agronomically and environmentally, day-
to-day all over the world. In recent years, revealing the nutritional and medicinal value of
fenugreek, its low soil expectations, and a relatively broad adaptation to the dierent regions,
the scope of its cultivation spread from America to India [7, 30, 57]. For example, this plant has
been called as a new species in Canada. There are few fenugreek genotypes that are adapted
to the climatic conditions of western Canada. In such cases, mutation breeding can be used to
generate new genetic variation in an existing gene pool for a certain trait [58]. Such a mutation
breeding can be used for a large number of alleles at the same time to correct a particular
trait [59]. Colloquially, mutations called every change in the DNA sequence which ultimately
leads to a change in the individual’s genotype. Gene mutation is a good aair in plant breed-
ing, because it facilitates the selection [60]. Up to now, mutation breeding has created dra-
matic changes in the species of legume crops [61–63]. For instance, Mahna et al. [64] used
mutation breeding to increase the diosgenin content in T. corniculata (a close relative of fenu-
greek). There are a variety of mutagens (chemicals or irradiation) to make mutations in plants.
According to the researches, it can be concluded that most of the mutations are recessive,
can be observed to segregate in a 3:1 ratio in diploid crops like fenugreek [35, 42, 65], and for
observation of such mutations, we should wait until the second generations [66]. Vice versa,
dominant mutations are rare and can be observed in the rst generations [65]. Since fenu-
greek is self-pollinated and the determinate trait is governed by recessive genes [67], mutation
breeding can be used to generate mutant plants with a determinate growth habit without los-
ing benecial adaptations and other agronomic traits in the base population [68].
Application of mutation breeding in fenugreek is expressed in several studies. There are two
major types of mutation: spontaneous and induced. Some varieties of fenugreek have been
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.): An Important Medicinal and Aromatic Crop
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/66506
215
created through spontaneous mutations [35, 42, 69–70]. RH 3129 variety is produced from
spontaneous mutation in a Moroccan cultivar and had high level of diosgenin content and
twin pods [35, 69, 71]. In creating new varieties of fenugreek, the eect of induced mutations
should not be ignored. RH 3112 cultivar with higher diosgenin content and seed yield and RH
3118 cultivar with higher protein content are two main cultivars which are made by induced
mutations [35, 42, 69, 70]. Chemical mutation is also important in the production of new
varieties of fenugreek. Basu [1] by inducing the seed of Tristar variety using Ethyl Methane
Sulfonate (EMS), produced new population with higher height, seed yield, seed number per
pod, biomass yield, total number of pods and number of twin pods.
Also, the results show that the impact of chemical mutation is much more than physical one
[18, 68–70, 72–74]. Among chemical mutagens, it is observed that EMS can induce mutation
successfully in the fenugreek [35, 69, 71]. Basu [1] studied the eect of dierent levels of EMS
on fenugreek (Tristar variety). He found that EMS by alkylating guanine base and mispair-
ing or mismatch pairing in the genome, eectively induced variation in the fenugreek popu-
lations and the mutants which were generated by 300 μM EMS had the best characters.
Also the results of various studies show that more than one genotype should be used in muta-
tion breeding program [60, 74]. This is because dierent genotypes respond dierently to a
mutagen.
8. Fenugreek tissue culture
One way of producing variation is tissue culture. Several techniques such as somatic embryo-
genesis, callus regeneration and micropropagation have been reported in fenugreek [75–77].
Malhotra [78] reviewed various studies on in vitro regeneration and callus induction on fenu-
greek. Aasim et al. [77] performed a successful in vitro shoot regeneration of fenugreek plants
on Murashige Skoog medium (MS) medium containing Thidiazuron (TDZ). The reports show
that T. foenum-graecum L. hypocotyl explants are most responsive to callus induction and pro-
liferation in tissue culture [79]. El-Nour et al. [80] performed a protocol of callus induction
in fenugreek (T. foenum-graecum L.) on MS and B5 media supplemented with dierent types
and concentrations of growth regulators were tested in order to obtain the best callus forma-
tion. The maximum value of callusing index (2.8) was obtained from MS medium containing
1.5 mg/l, 2,4-D using hypocotyls and cotyledons explants. The maximum callus formation
observed in the MS media containing 2.0 mg/l naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) was 3.9 ± 0.08
in hypocotyls segment. The callus was compact in cotyledons and variable in hypocotyls seg-
ments and the color was creamy.
Shekhawat and Galston [81] examined dierent culture media and concluded that medium
containing 0.1 mg/L of 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP), zeatin, glutamine and asparagines was
suitable for callus induction and dierentiation, rapid cell division and growth. Azam and
Biswas [75] believed that callus induction and growth were more successful on MS medium
supplemented with naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), 2,4-D, kinetin and coconut water. El-Bahr
[82] had a dierent view; he believes that fenugreek callus had its best growth on MS medium
containing 3% sucrose and 2 mg 2,4-D.
Active Ingredients from Aromatic and Medicinal Plants216
9. Conclusion
Fenugreek (T. foenum-graecum L.) is an annual forage legume and a traditional spice crop that
has been grown for centuries across the Indian subcontinent. In addition to South Asia, the
crop is also grown in some parts of North Africa, Middle East, Mediterranean Europe, China,
SE Asia, Australia and the USA, Canada and Argentina. India is the largest fenugreek producer
in the world, but due to high internal consumption, do not have a major share of the global
fenugreek trade. The crop has been recommended for the dry and semiarid regions of Asia,
Africa and Latin America. The plant has been used traditionally in Indian Ayurvedic medi-
cines as well as in traditional Tibetan and Chinese medication for several centuries. Modern
research has also demonstrated that fenugreek seed and leaves are useful in the treatment
of a number of diseases including successfully reducing blood sugar and blood cholesterol
levels in both animals and human subjects in experimental trials. The reason behind the rich
medicinal properties of fenugreek is due to the presence of a wide diversity of important phy-
tochemicals (diosgenin, trigonelline, fenugreekine, galactomannan and 4-hydroxy isoleucine).
Hence, the crop has huge international demand in the associated pharmaceutical, nutraceutical
and functional food industries. Our globe represents a wide range of agro-ecosystems on the
earth with suitable dry, arid and semiarid climatic regimes suitable for the cultivation of fenu-
greek. Although the crop is crown to a limited amount in potential regions of fenugreek produc-
tion, namely Africa, Central and South America and Southeast of Asia, but it has the potential
to be grown under larger areas as a chemurgic crop with signicant economic and commercial
potential for the nation. Furthermore, being a forage legume and a natural nitrogen xer; it could
be easily incorporated in the local crop cycles of dierent geological regions for replenishing the
soil naturally. The crop grows well under rainfed conditions and hence cost of production is
lower compared to other commercial crops suitable for Iranian agroclimatic regimes.
Author details
Peiman Zandi1*, Saikat Kumar Basu2, William Ceal-Ix3, Mojtaba Kordrostami4, Shahram
Khademi Chalaras5 and Leila Bazrkar Khatibai6
*Address all correspondence to: z_rice_b@yahoo.com
1 Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
2 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
3 Instituto Tecnológico de Chiná, Colonia Centro Chiná, Campeche, México
4 Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht,
Iran
5 Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Rasht branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht,
Iran
6 Department of Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Zabol University, Zabol, Iran
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