Abstract
Dietary health supplements have increasingly used in the prevention and treatment of chronic disorders. During the previous decades, fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) seeds have been reported to have hypoglycemic and cholesterol lowering effects when used in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, and in experimental diabetic animals. The aim of this paper is to review fenugreek research findings relevant to its use in diabetes. There is convincing research evidence suggesting that fenugreek can improve hyperglycemia and has a protective effective against diabetic complications through immunomodulatory, insulin stimulation, and antioxidant effects, enhancing adipocyte differentiation, inhibition of inflammation in adipose tissues, and preventing or lessening pancreatic and renal damage. Many of the beneficial effects of fenugreek in diabetes have been attributed to four bioactive components including diosgenin, 4-hydroxyisoleucine, furostanolic saponins, and the fiber in fenugreek.
Highlights
The work of Madar et al (1988) suggested that fenugreek have the potential to be used in the treatment of non-insulin dependent diabetics, as they reported that the use of powdered fenugreek seed in a dose of 15 g soaked in water was associated with a marked decrease in the postprandial glucose levels [5]
Sharma and colleagues (1990) reported that the use of defatted fenugreek seed powder in the treatment of in type I diabetes, in a dose of 100 g divided in two doses for ten days, was associated with a considerable lowering of fasting blood sugar and resulted in an improvement in the glucose tolerance test
Khosla and colleagues (1995) reported an experimental study on rats which showed that oral fenugreek (2 and 8 g/kg dose) was associated with a considerable lowering (P < 0.05) in blood glucose in normal and diabetic rats, and the hypoglycemic effect in this study was dose related [7]
Summary
Advisor in Pediatrics and Pediatric Psychiatry Children Teaching Hospital of Baghdad Medical City, Headquarter of Copernicus Scientists International Panel Baghdad, Iraq.
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