Fenugreek extract 50% | Trigonella foenum

Fenugreek extract 50% | Trigonella foenum-graecum

Properties: Let us travel to a distant past – something about 6 000 years back. Somewhere in the still fertile basin of Tigris and Euphrates lies a tiny village. The neolithic period is already advanced – all around we can see fields full of crops. There are small pens next to the houses, where sheep and goats graze. Through the village runs a road – the wheel has just been invented. Although most of the tools are still made of stone, some farmers have the advantage of plough. The bronze age is approaching rapidly. Simply put – it is the advent of civilization. Many ages later, in the very same place where this village stood, the seeds of fenugreek were discovered. Could they be used to treat the first symptoms of civilization diseases? That might be the case.

The neolithic revolution has brought about the first major changes in the human diet – the beginning of farming has significantly increased the amount of carbohydrates intake. Recent hunters and nomads settled down and learned to enjoy baked goods. The issue of obesity might have appeared already back then. Today, we know that fenugreek effectively regulates the blood glucose level. Our ancient ancestors couldn’t have known this for a fact, but they might have noticed its results. The sudden changes in glucose concentration are associated with hunger attacks, and these changes occur when we consume large amounts of sugar – e.g. when we are hungry. Then, the organism receives an overwhelming amount of calories and instead of burning them – begins to store them. The logic of our ancestors could have been simple: when I drink the infusion from this plant, I’m not so hungry and my belly doesn’t grow. Thus, I’m going to drink it.

The Neolithic age has then brought a drastic change in lifestyle. Humans stopped their nomadic journeys and settled down. Their life has gained a new rhythm: long periods of inactivity were intertwined with extreme physical effort related to fieldworks. Like today, when after a long day in the office we go to a gym – the body can hurt. Surprisingly, the pain goes away when we drink fenugreek tea. Even better, our muscles appear to be bigger and we seem somewhat stronger. These effects are easy to notice. It is no wonder – fenugreek not only has analgesic effects but it also increases the level of testosterone, which is a natural anabolic. Thus, the supplementation of its extract helps to increase muscle mass. Well then, now I (the author) will give it a try too!

What about the sexual life of our neolithic ancestors? It is quite hard to imagine what it looked like. Similarly, it is hard to fully acknowledge the scope of erectile dysfunction in men or libido weakening in women of the XXI century. Were these problems present also back then? We cannot answer this question for sure. However, we can certainly notice another effect of fenugreek tea. Testosterone surely does the job.

Other benefits of fenugreek supplementation might not be so easily observable. However, let us for a moment imagine that we are able to dive deep into the organism of our neolithic ancestors. What would we see? The blood vessels are looking well, cholesterol level is optimal, the liver is properly protected – for instance against the toxicity of alcohol (yeah, they had it too), and the digestive tract is pretty healthy. In sum, technologically advanced equipment is not needed to see that when we drink fenugreek tea, we just function better. What about you? Want some too? You don’t even need to prepare it yourself – we have done that for you.

Occurrence: Common fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is an annual herbaceous plant from the Leguminosae family. It reaches up to 60 cm in height. It has trifoliate, ovate or oblong leaves. Yellow flowers with a tubular, five-lobed calyx and a butterfly crown are seated singly or doubly on very short pedicels in the leaf axils. The fruit resembles a bent pod. It contains about 15 diamond-shaped or prismatic seeds, beige in color, resembling buckwheat seeds.

Common fenugreek is native to terrains of Asia: Caucasus, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Eastern Europe: Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania and Estonia. In Asia its seeds and leaves are consumed as vegetables. Many nations use the powdered form of seeds as a spice. They have also been used in traditional medical systems. For instance Ayurveda knows fenugreek as “methi” and applies it to increase lactation. In traditional Chinese medicine this plant is used to relieve diabetes, because it lowers the blood glucose level. In Iran fenugreek leaves are known as remedies to various eye diseases. The Latin name of this plant, foenum-grecum, literally means “Greek hay”. That’s also where its English name comes from – it’s fenugreek.

Biochemistry: Fenugreek contains multiple biologically active compounds with a varied structure. Many flavonoids are present in the seeds: free flavones (luteolin, tricin), flavanones (naringenins), flavanols (quercetin) and their glycosides (vitexin, isovitexin, orientin, isoorientin). There are also isoflavones – secondary metabolites of phytoestrogenic nature, including biochanins A, formononetin and daidzein. The herb contains primarily O-glycoside derivatives of kaempferol and quercetin. In addition, fenugreek also contains vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, folates, ascorbic acid) and minerals (calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc).

Fun fact: Humanity has known fenugreek for millennia. It is mentioned by Josephus Flavius (turn of the 1st and 2nd century AD) and even Cato the Elder (3rd/2nd century BC). Traces of it were found in the tomb of the famous pharaoh Tutankhamen (who died in 1323 BCE). It is described in the Hindu book of Ayurvedic healing herbs, dated 2600-2500 BC. Its charred seeds have also been identified at a Neolithic archaeological site, dated around 4000 BC and located in Iraq.