Bioactive effects and safety profiles of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) for pharmaceutical and medicinal applications

Abstract

The leaves and seeds of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L), an annual herb, are common condiments used in India, Mediterranean and North African regions. Fenugreek has a long history of its use in traditional medicine. It is one of the oldest medicinal plants used in traditional medicine that contains many natural chemical compounds like trigonellin, diosgenin, quercetin, 4-hydroxyisoleucine, galactomannan, and scopoletin. Several studies on identification of different chemical compounds present in fenugreek and their therapeutic effects have revealed its hypocholesterolemic, antidepressant, galactagogues, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, and hepatoprotective properties suggesting their potential use in prevention and treatment of many diseases in human and animals. This article summarizes recent research findings regarding the therapeutic potential and safety profile of fenugreek.

Full text

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The Pharma Innovation Journal 2021; SP-10(12): 912-919
ISSN (E): 2277- 7695
ISSN (P): 2349-8242
NAAS Rating: 5.23
TPI 2021; SP-10(12): 912-919
© 2021 TPI
www.thepharmajournal.com
Received: 07-10-2021
Accepted: 09-11-2021
Naveen Kumar
Assistant Professor, College of
Veterinary and Animal Sciences,
G. B. Pant University of
Agriculture and Technology,
Pantnagar, U. S. Nagar,
Uttarakhand, India
Mahesh Kumar
College of Veterinary and Animal
Sciences, G. B. Pant University
of Agriculture and Technology,
Pantnagar, U. S. Nagar,
Uttarakhand, India
Manish Kumar Verma
College of Veterinary and Animal
Sciences, G. B. Pant University
of Agriculture and Technology,
Pantnagar, U. S. Nagar,
Uttarakhand, India
Sivaraman Ramanarayanan
College of Veterinary and Animal
Sciences, G. B. Pant University
of Agriculture and Technology,
Pantnagar, U. S. Nagar,
Uttarakhand, India
Amita Ranjan
College of Veterinary and Animal
Sciences, Rajasthan University
of Veterinary and Animal
Sciences, Bikaner, Rajasthan,
India
Rakesh Ranjan
ICAR-National Research Centre
on Camel, Jorbeer, Bikaner,
Rajasthan, India
Corresponding Author
Naveen Kumar
Assistant Professor, College of
Veterinary and Animal Sciences,
G. B. Pant University of
Agriculture and Technology,
Pantnagar, U. S. Nagar,
Uttarakhand, India
Bioactive effects and safety profiles of fenugreek
(Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) for pharmaceutical
and medicinal applications
Naveen Kumar, Mahesh Kumar, Manish Kumar Verma, Sivaraman
Ramanarayanan, Amita Ranjan and Rakesh Ranjan
Abstract
The leaves and seeds of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L), an annual herb, are
common condiments used in India, Mediterranean and North African regions. Fenugreek has a long
history of its use in traditional medicine. It is one of the oldest medicinal plants used in traditional
medicine that contains many natural chemical compounds like trigonellin, diosgenin, quercetin, 4-
hydroxyisoleucine, galactomannan, and scopoletin. Several studies on identification of different chemical
compounds present in fenugreek and their therapeutic effects have revealed its hypocholesterolemic,
antidepressant, galactagogues, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, and hepatoprotective properties
suggesting their potential use in prevention and treatment of many diseases in human and animals. This
article summarizes recent research findings regarding the therapeutic potential and safety profile of
fenugreek.
Keywords: fenugreek, safety, therapeutic properties, traditional-medicine, Trigonella
1. Introduction
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is a leguminous herb belonging to the Fabaceae
family and is grown as a spice crop in several countries of Asia, Africa, and Mediterranean
Europe (Petropoulos, 2002; Srinivasan, 2006) [1, 2]. The plant grows 1-2 ft in height, seeds are
present in sickle-shaped pods and are yellowish when ripened. Fenugreek, declared as safe for
human consumption by United States Food and Drug Administration, have several medicinal
applications (Sureshkumar et al., 2018) [3]. For centuries, it is being used for therapeutic
purposes in Ayurvedic (Indian), Unani (Arabic) and Chinese traditional medicine (ElNour et
al., 2015) [4]. In traditional medicine, it is being used for treatment of common cold, cough,
bronchitis, sore throats, arthritis, menstrual pain and stimulate intestinal digestion (Herrera et
al., 2019; Younesy et al., 2014) [5, 6]. Fenugreek seeds contain a high level of total polyphenols
and flavonoids that provide beneficial physiological effects (Khlifi et al., 2016) [7]. Seeds have
been identified as a commercial source of diosgenin, a chemical compound used for the
production of steroids as drugs like sexual hormones, oral contraceptives and corticosteroids
(Bahmani et al., 2016) [8]. Recently, standardized extracts are also available as capsules or
tablets and are being used in the management of many diseases.
2. Chemical constituents and bioactive compounds
Major bioactive compounds present in fenugreek include alkaloids (pyridine, trigonellin),
polyphenols (choline, luteolin, quercetin), steroidal saponins (diosgenin, protodioscin,
yamogenin), coumarin, lipids, a non-proteinogenic amino acid (4-hydroxyisoleucine),
vitamins, galactomannans and minerals (Sureshkumar et al., 2018; Kiss et al., 2018) [3, 9]. The
fenugreek seeds contain 51.5% carbohydrates, 25.0% protein, and 6-8% lipids, while leaves
contain 20-30% protein, 22-30% starch, 12.5% neutral detergent fiber, 4.0% gum 10.6% ash,
and 4-6% lipids (Basu and Srichamroen, 2010) [10]. Trigonelline is the primary alkaloid present
in fenugreek that is degraded to nicotinic acid and pyridines during roasting and provide
typical flavor to the seeds (Ouzir et al., 2016) [11]. Fenugreek contains trigonelline that has high
therapeutic potential and low toxicity. About 80% of the total content of free amino acid
present in seeds is 4-hydroxyisoleucine (Fuller and Stephens, 2015) [12]. Fenugreek seeds also
constitute dietary fiber (both insoluble and soluble), mainly galactomannan (Srinivasan, 2019)
[13]. Presence of fourteen bioactive compounds was evident in fenugreek seeds in a

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Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) analysis
(Khalil et al., 2015) [14]. Fenugreek leaves contain highest
amount of phenolic compounds and flavonoids (Premanath et
al., 2011) [15]. The major active components responsible
forvarious pharmaceutical properties of fenugreek have been
described as diosgenin, trigonelline, galactomannan, 4-
hydroxyisoleucine quercetin and scopoletin. The chemical
structure of these components is mentioned in Figure 1
(Belaid-Nouira et al., 2012; Bairi et al., 2017) [16, 17].
3. Fenugreek on health promotion and disease prevention
Multiple biological effects have been reported in fenugreek
and its derivatives, on both health promotion and disease
prevention (Figure 2). The pre-clinical and clinical data
related to fenugreek bioactive effects is briefly discussed with
respective mode of action in following sections.
3.1 Anti-inflammatory activity
Nowadays, most anti-inflammatory treatments decrease the
levels of cytokines associated with inflammatory diseases.
Joints of rheumatoid arthritis patient contain more pro-
inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL-6) and tumor
necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) than the normal joints, and
are associated with the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis
(Szollosi et al., 2018; Kawabata et al., 2011) [18, 19]. Both,
cytokines and myeloperoxidase are important pro-
inflammatory mediators for inflammatory reactions (Sindhu et
al., 2012) [20]. Blocking cytokines and myeloperoxidase could
produce a relief of symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis.
Fenugreek seeds extract inhibit the production of
inflammatory cytokines in cultured THP-1 cells (Sindhu et
al., 2018) [21]. Mucilage from fenugreek markedly decreases
the level of cytokines (TNF-alpha and IL-6) and
myeloperoxidase activity in experimentally induced arthritis
(Yacoubi et al., 2011; Suresh et al., 2012) [22, 23]. In another
study, ethanolic extract of fenugreek significantly decreased
the level of cytokines, TNF-alpha and IL-6 in arthritic albino
rats. These findings suggested anti-inflammatory activities of
fenugreek (Goto et al., 2004) [24].
3.2 Antinociceptive activity
Antinociceptive activity of fenugreek seed, leaves and stem
extracts were investigated by several workers. Fenugreek
extracts have proven antinociceptive and antipyretic effects in
animal model similar to that of non-steroidal anti-
inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (Ahmadiani et al., 2001;
Abbas et al., 2016) [25, 26]. Serotonergic system involves in the
antinociceptive action of NSAIDs (Miranda et al., 2003) [27].
The alkaloid content of fenugreek seeds might be responsible
for antinociceptive effect (Kaviarasan et al., 2008) [28]. In an
experimental study on rats, ethanolic extract of fenugreek
seeds showed antinociceptive effects, perhaps due to presence
of some endogenous opoids (Biswal et al., 2003) [29].
Methanolic extract of fenugreek leaves were found to have
greater inhibitory effect than paracetamol on writhing in rats
induced by acetic acid (Bhalke et al., 2009) [30]. Likewise, in a
double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial, transdermal
patch containing 10% ethanolic extracts of fenugreek seeds
were found to decrease pain score and demand for morphine
in postherniotomy patients (Ansari et al., 2019) [31].
3.3 Antimicrobial activity
Aqueous and ethanolic fenugreek seed extract was found to
have potent antibacterial activity (ElNour et al., 2015; Al-
Hussainy, 2015; Dharajiya et al., 2016) [4, 32, 33] against many
pathogenic bacterial strains including Staphylococcus aureus
and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Al-Timimi et al., 2019) [34]. In
another study, ethanolic extract of fenugreek leaf was found
to have potent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus
aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Premanath et al., 2011)
[15]. Likewise, methanolic extract of leaves of stem was found
to have good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus
aureus and E. coli (Sharma et al., 2017) [35]. Aqueous extract
and essential oil derived from fenugreek seeds failed to inhibit
the growth of some common food borne pathogens including
Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli,
Bacillus cereus and Enterococcus feacalis (Bhatia and
Sharma, 2012) [36]. However, in other study, silver
nanoparticles (AgNPs) engineered fenugreek seed extract has
been found excellent antibacterial efficacy against Gram
positive, Gram negative, and even multidrug resistant bacteria
(Guardiola et al., 2018) [37].
3.4 Anticarcinogenic activity
Targeting the cell proliferation or inducing apoptosis is a
critical point in the cancer therapy. Apoptosis, the
programmed cell death, is characterized by the morphological
changes including DNA fragmentation (Kitai et al., 2017) [38].
Apoptotic pathways can be classified into extrinsic and
intrinsic that occurs inside the cell for the DNA
fragmentation. The activation of caspase-3 is common in
both, extrinsic and intrinsic pathways (Thakur and Ahirwar,
2019) [39]. Epithelial cells adaptation to persistent oxidative
stress is an important step in carcinogenesis. Activation of
Nrf2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2), through
proteasome, pathway results into carcinogenesis (Khan and
Khosla, 2018) [40]. Therefore, inhibiting Nrf2 is an important
target in anticancer therapy. Ethyl iso-allocholate, a steroidal
derivative from fenugreek seeds, is a potent anticancer agent
that produces apoptosis by activation of caspase signaling
pathway (Sebens et al., 2011) [41]. Alkaloid trigonelline
isolated from fenugreek also has potential use in cancer
therapy (Basu and Srichamroen, 2010) [10]. Trigonelline
promote programmed cell death in cancer cells by blocking
Nrf2-dependent proteasome activity (Cersosimo et al., 2018)
[42].
3.5 Antidiabetic effect
Diabetes may lead to multiple organ complications due to
long term progression before treatment. The pathogenesis of
type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) involves aberrant alteration
in levels and function of many hormones including insulin
(Cersosimo et al., 2018) [42]. The glucose homeostasis in the
body is maintained by both insulin secretion and tissue
sensitivity to insulin. Cellular glucose uptake is dependent on
stimulation of insulin, which causes the translocation of
glucose transporter-4 (GLUT-4) to the plasma membrane.
Insulin resistance impairs glucose disposal by inhibiting
cellular glucose uptake in muscle and adipose tissue (Avalos-
Soriano et al., 2016) [43]. In T2DM patients, insulin stimulate
cellular glucose uptake by inducing GLUT-4 from an
intracellular compartment to the plasma membrane (Jaiswal et
al., 2012) [44]. Peroxisome proliferators activate receptor
(PPAR), a nuclear receptor that has supreme roles in lipid
metabolism, particularly PPARgamma is critical for
adipogenesis (Wafer et al., 2017) [45]. Variant in PPARgamma
reduce the adipocyte differentiation and is associated with a
substantial risk of T2DM. Fenugreek seeds contain large

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amounts of 4-hydroxyisoleucine that stimulates insulin
secretion and enhances the glucose uptake by translocation of
GLUT4 to the plasma membrane (Szabo et al., 2018) [46].
Polyphenol, stilbenes and rhaponticin present in fenugreek
seeds can increase insulin sensitivity (Li et al., 2018) [47].
PPAR is one of the major molecular targets in T2DM.
Diosgenin showed antihyperglycemic effect mediated
selectively by the PPARgamma (Sangeetha et al., 2013) [48].
Glycated hemoglobin is the most commonly used marker for
long term glycemic control (Sirsikar et al., 2016) [49].
Ingestion of fenugreek seeds significantly reduced fasting
blood glucose levels and glycosylated hemoglobin levels in
patients of T2DM (Khan and Khosla, 2018; Ranade and
Mudgalkar, 2017) [40, 50].
3.6 Antihypertensive effect
High blood pressure (i.e., hypertension) is one of the most
common preventable causes of death, worldwide.
Hypertension can be controlled using medicines like diuretics,
beta blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)
inhibitors, angiotensin-II receptor blockers, calcium channel
blockers and aldosterone antagonist (Thomopoulos et al.,
2018) [51]. Chronic administration of a mineralocorticoid,
deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) salt, induces
hypertension due to salt and water retention. It is assumed that
5-HT2B receptor is up-regulated by DOCA, resulting into
continued elevated blood pressure (Banes and Watts, 2003)
[52]. Administration of methanolic extract of fenugreek seeds
to rats showed antihypertensive action mediated through
serotonergic antagonistic property (via 5-HT2 receptor)
(Balaraman et al., 2006) [53]. Seeds of fenugreek are rich in
essential oil (i.e., terpenenes and omega-3 fatty acid), exhibit
antihypertensive effect by decreasing the activity of ACE
(Hamden et al., 2011) [54] in diabetic rats. In addition,
combination of dietary fenugreek seeds and onion
synergistically reduce the level of ACE in diabetic animals
(Pradeep and Srinivasan, 2017) [55]. The aqueous extract of
fenugreek showed diuretic activity, hence is helpful in
management of hypertension (Rohini et al., 2008) [56]. In
another study, fenugreek extracts increased excretion of
sodium and potassium ions with a hypocalciuric effect (Al-
Atwi, 2010) [57] like thiazide diuretic. Thiazide diuretics are
often used as the first choice drug in hypertension.
3.7 Immunomodulation
Natural immunomodulators produce strong activity with
negligible side effects. The natural immunostimulators
synthesis or/and secrete several cytokines including IL-1, IL-
2, IFN-gamma and TNF alpha (Vetvicka and Vetvickova,
2014) [58]. Bioactive compounds isolated from fenugreek can
inhibit the cytokines like IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-ɑ (Goyal et al.,
2018) [59]. Fenugreek is widely known for its
immunostimulatory properties (Guardiola et al., 2018) [37].
Dietary administration of seed stimulates the innate and
adaptive immune parameters in Sparus aurata L (gilthead
seabream). Different extracts of fenugreek showed
immunomodulatory effect on immune functions in rats
(Anarthe et al., 2014) [60], and Swiss albino mice (Bin-Hafeez
et al., 2003) [61] through stimulating specific and non-specific
immune mechanism.
3.8 Hypocholesterolemic activity
Excessively high plasma cholesterol level is a strong risk
factor for cardiovascular diseases, particularly for
development of peripheral vascular and coronary artery
diseases (Stapleton et al., 2010) [62]. 3-hydroxy-3-
methylglutaryl coenzyme-A reductase (HMG-CoA
reductase), the rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol
biosynthesis is clinically used to treat cardiovascular disease
(Jiang et al., 2018) [63]. Galactomannan from fenugreek seeds
exerts hypolipidemic effect due to increased HMGA-CoA
reductase activity with additional bile acids and neutral sterols
excretion in faeces (Ramulu et al., 2011) [64]. Diosgenin, a
furostanol saponin, in fenugreek inhibits the absorption of
cholesterol and thereby lower hepatic cholesterol
concentration and increases biliary cholesterol excretion,
ultimately lowering the serum cholesterol concentration (Sfar
et al., 2018) [65]. Fenugreek seeds powder improve
atherogenic index (El-Masry et al., 2018) [66], a novel index
associated with triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein
cholesterol (Zhu et al., 2018) [67].
3.9 Neuroprotective effect
Several mechanisms are involved in different CNS disorders
including inflammation, oxidative stress, high cholesterol
level, and diabetes thus resulting into changes in brain
integrity and functions (Zameer et al., 2018) [68].
Neuroprotective effect of fenugreek has been observed due to
its efficacy in opposing 6-hydroxy dopamine (6-OHDA)
induced Parkinson's disease and restoration of neurons
(Mirzaie et al., 2016) [69]. Extract of fenugreek is reported to
inhibit the acetylcholinesterase enzyme (Satheeshkumar et al.,
2010) [70] which is crucial for the modulation of cognitive
functions in neurodegenerative disorders. Dementia is the
most common phenotype in Alzheimer's disease which is a
chronic neurodegenerative disorder (Fahanik-Babaei et al.,
2019) [71]. Fenugreek seeds attenuated the memory deficits,
amyloid and tau pathology against Alzheimer's disease in rats
(Prema et al., 2017) [72]. Methanolic extract of fenugreek
seeds, as an antiamnesic agent, improved learning and
memory processin mice (Assad et al., 2018) [73]. Fenugreek
extract also exhibited neuroprotective effect in persons
suffering from Parkinson's disease (Nathan et al., 2014) [74].
3.10 Antioxidant activity
Free radicals and other oxidants are derived from both
endogenous sources and exogenous sources. Free radicals
adversely affect the integrity of important biological
molecules including nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids,
thereby altering the normal redox status leading to several
disease conditions such as cancer, aging, neurodegenerative
diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, liver
damage, etc (Phaniendra et al., 2015) [75]. Antioxidants either
prevent excess generation of reactive oxygen species, or
speeds up their removal (Kunwar and Priyadarsini, 2011) [76]
so that damage to vital components of the cell can be
minimized. Fenugreek seeds exhibited a high antioxidant
potential (Kumar et al., 2021) [77] and restored the altered
activity of cellular antioxidant enzymes in tissue (Yashin et
al., 2017) [78]. The aqueous extract of fenugreek ameliorated
the oxidative stress in rats (Al-Sultan and El-Bahr, 2015) [79]
by activation of antioxidant enzymes and lowering hepatic
lipid peroxidation. Fenugreek seeds have also been reported
to provide protection to erythrocytes against oxidative
damage (Fatima et al., 2018) [80]. A functional assay indicated
that dietary fenugreek seed significantly restored the high-fat,
high-sugar diet-damaged arterial response to acetylcholine
(Szabo et al., 2018) [46], a classic vasodilatory signal

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molecule.
3.11 Effects on reproductive system
Women with dysmenorrhea suffer from increased painful
uterine contractions during menstruation. At menopause, there
is decrease in estrogen production leading to life altering
symptoms like cognitive instability, bone density reduction,
cardiovascular disease, etc (Harlow and Signorello, 2000) [81].
Fenugreek has been used for the treatment of dysmenorrhea
(Younesy et al., 2014; Yassin, 2018) [6, 82]. Fenugreek seeds
contain phytoestrogen compounds, exhibit estrogenic effects,
bind to estrogen receptors and induce expression of estrogen
responsive genes (El-Masry et al., 2018) [66]. The seed extract
ameliorated the symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome
associated with decrease in both size and number of ovarian
cysts, significant increase in LH and FSH level (Srinivasan
and Sharma, 2018) [83]. It is also reported that perineal wash
with seeds decoction significantly reduced vaginal discharge
and vulval itching (Thilagavathy, 2016) [84]. Fenugreek seed
has potential in balancing hormones to support libido in male
(Steels et al., 2011) [85]. Seeds extract improves the level of
total serum testosterone and sexual function in aging men (El-
Masry et al., 2018; Rao et al., 2016) [66, 86].
3.12. Gastroprotective effect
Various experimental trials have shown that fenugreek can
combat several pathologiccal conditions associated with
gastrointestinal disorders. Fenugreek seed extract significantly
decreased the volume of gastric juice, total acidity and gastric
ulcer index (Singaravelu et al., 2018) [87]. In rats, aqueous
extract of seeds exhibited ulcer protective effects by its
antisecretory action (Pandian et al., 2002) [88]. Dietary
fenugreek attenuates lithogenicity of bile thereby prevents
pathogenesis of gallstones formation (Reddy and Srinivasan,
2011) [89]. Authors also reported the gastroprotective effect of
fenugreek by increasing mucin secretion (Ghosal et al., 2016)
[90]. The H+/K+-ATPase pump is a crucial target for
gastroprotective effect. Fenugreek seeds produced
gastroprotective effect by antagonizing this pump (Figer et
al., 2017) [91].
3.13 Galactagogue activity
Galactagogues are a group of substances used to induce and
maintain milk production in female (Sim et al., 2015) [92].
Dopamine (D2 receptor) antagonists are conventional
galactagogues, commonly used in clinical practice. Dopamine
receptor antagonists increase milk production by increasing
the levels of prolactin (Sim et al., 2015) [92]. Fenugreek is a
safe and effective galactagogue (Forinash et al., 2012; Yadav
and Baquer, 2014) [93, 94]. The chemical compounds present in
fenugreek like diosgenin, luteolin and apigenin stimulate
anterior pituitary to enhance milk production (Bumrungpert et
al., 2018) [95]. Fenugreek increases breast milk volume and
prolactin levels in mother (Reeder et al., 2013) [96].
Stimulating sweat production may be another possible way by
which it increases milk production (Gabay, 2002) [97].
4. Safety and toxicity profile
Several in vitro and in vivo studies have established that
fenugreek seeds and other parts of the plant are quite safe in
animals and humans. Nevertheless, some reports have
highlighted certain deleterious side effects of fenugreek seeds
that are descried briefly in following sections.
4.1 Single dose effect
The acute oral median lethal dose (LD50) of fenugreek seed
extract was recorded to be greater than 2500 mg/kg body
weight/day in Wistar rats (Sureshkumar et al., 2018) [3]. In
another study, the oral LD50 of fenugreek seed powder was
found 2 and 5 g/kg or more in mice and rats, respectively
(Sharma et al., 1996) [98]. As per the guidelines of
Organization for Economic Corporation and Development
(OECD),value of LD50 < 2 gm/kg body weight is relatively
safe, hence fenugreek may be considered as non-toxic
(Sureshkumar et al., 2018) [3].
4.2 Repeated dose effect
In sub-chronic (90 days) toxicity study, debitterized fenugreek
seeds powder was found safe even at a dose of up to 20% in
the diet of weaning rats (Sharma et al., 1996) [98]. In a clinical
study in 60 diabetic patients, daily single intake of 25 gram
fenugreek seed powder for 24 weeks did not produce any sign
of adverse or toxic effect (Khalki et al., 2012) [99]. Saponin-
rich standardized seed extract is reported to be safe in rats
even after repeated intake for 90 days, with no observed-
adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of 1000 mg/kg body weight
per day (Sureshkumar et al., 2018) [3].
Alteration in neurobehavioral performance in mice was
recorded during the post-weaning period after prenatal
exposure to high dose of fenugreek seeds (Posadzki et al.,
2013) [100]. The consumption of fenugreek during pregnancy is
not recommended assaponincompound is reported to have
anti-fertility, anti-implantation and abortifacient activity
(Ouzir et al., 2016) [11]. In addition, fenugreek may increase
chances of morphological abnormalities and fetal death rate
(Khalki et al., 2010) [101].
Diosgenin
Galactomannan
4-hydroxyisoleucine
Trigonellin
Quercetin
Scopoletin
Fig 1: Chemical structures of Fenugreek bioactive compounds

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Fig 2: Schematic illustration of fenugreek biological activities
5. Conclusion
Based on available scientific information, fenugreek appears
to have unique pharmacotherapeutic properties. Though it is a
part of our dietary constituents, it may also be recommended
as a therapeutic agent in several human and animal ailments.
However, the unusual high human equivalent dose to achieve
desired therapeutic effect is the major limiting factor in use of
fenugreek crude extracts in various human ailments. The
crude extract of any plant product is a complex mixture of
several compounds, hence pointing a specific action of a
particular component is often difficult. The process of drug
development from herbs or any plant product includes
multiple steps. Different active constituents extracted from
fenugreek can also be studied for their therapeutic potential
and subjected to drug designing and development. The
research for new drugs with minimal toxicity is of interest in
phytochemistry as occurrence of adverse drug effects is
frequently reported after prolonged use of several drugs.
6. Acknowledgments
This work was supported by University Grant Commission
(UGC), New Delhi, India in the form of Senior Research
Fellowship to the first author.
7. Conflicts of interest
All authors read and approved the final manuscript and
declare that they have no conflict of interests.
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