The effects of a commercially available botanical supplement on strength, body composition, power output, and hormonal profiles in resistance-trained males

Chris Poole,Cliffa Foster,Brandon Bushey,Lem Taylor,Richard Kreider,Darryn Willoughby,Bill Campbell,Colin Wilborn

doi:10.1186/1550-2783-7-34

Abstract

BackgroundFenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is a leguminous, annual plant originating in India and North Africa. In recent years Fenugreek has been touted as an ergogenic aid. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Fenugreek supplementation on strength and body composition.Methods49 Resistance trained men were matched according to body weight and randomly assigned to ingest in a double blind manner capsules containing 500 mg of a placebo (N = 23, 20 ± 1.9 years, 178 ± 6.3 cm, 85 ± 12.7 kg, 17 ± 5.6 %BF) or Fenugreek (N = 26, 21 ± 2.8 years, 178 ± 6 cm, 90 ± 18.2 kg, 19.3 ± 8.4 %BF). Subjects participated in a supervised 4-day per week periodized resistance-training program split into two upper and two lower extremity workouts per week for a total of 8-weeks. At 0, 4, and 8-weeks, subjects underwent hydrodensiometery body composition, 1-RM strength, muscle endurance, and anaerobic capacity testing. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and are presented as mean ± SD changes from baseline after 60-days.ResultsNo significant differences (p > 0.05) between groups were noted for training volume. Significant group × time interaction effects were observed among groups in changes in body fat (FEN: -2.3 ± 1.4%BF; PL: -0.39 ± 1.6 %BF, p < 0.001), leg press 1-RM (FEN: 84.6 ± 36.2 kg; PL: 48 ± 29.5 kg, p < 0.001), and bench press 1-RM (FEN: 9.1 ± 6.9 kg; PL: 4.3 ± 5.6 kg, p = 0.01). No significant interactions was observed among groups for Wingate power analysis (p = 0.95) or muscular endurance on bench press (p = 0.87) or leg press (p = 0.61). In addition, there were no changes among groups in any clinical safety data including lipid panel, liver function, kidney function, and/or CBC panel (p > 0.05).ConclusionIt is concluded that 500 mg of this proprietary Fenugreek extraction had a significant impact on both upper- and lower-body strength and body composition in comparison to placebo in a double blind controlled trial. These changes were obtained with no clinical side effects.

Highlights

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is a leguminous, annual plant originating in India and North Africa
Fenugreek seed extract acts in a similar fashion to that of insulin by promoting glucose uptake into cells through a dose-dependent manner [6]
Additional evidence has shown that fenugreek seeds aid in the release of insulin from pancreatic beta cells [7], allowing blood glucose levels to reduce by the transport and entrance of glucose into muscle cells

Summary

Introduction

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is a leguminous, annual plant originating in India and North Africa. It is an herbal product with many proposed health benefits found in the diets of various Middle Eastern countries. Other investigations utilizing human participants have implemented fenugreek supplementation (daily doses of 1 to 25 g/day) to diabetic patients eliciting positive glucose regulation responses [2,3]. Additional evidence has shown that fenugreek seeds aid in the release of insulin from pancreatic beta cells [7], allowing blood glucose levels to reduce by the transport and entrance of glucose into muscle cells

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