Fenugreek is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets that is native to the Mediterranean region, southern Europe, and western Asia. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop. Fenugreek is believed to have been brought into cultivation in the Near East. India is a major producer, with fenugreek production in India derived from numerous states.
The seeds are used in cooking, to make medicine, or to hide the taste of other medicine. Fenugreek seeds smell and taste somewhat like maple syrup. Sotolon is responsible for the distinctive maple syrup smell of fenugreek.
Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds (Fenugreek seeds; the main active component of this plant) tend to contain: Trigonelline, a betaine molecule also found in high levels in alfalfa and coffee. 4-hydroxyisoleucine and its precursor, 2-oxoglutarate.
Fenugreek is taken by mouth for digestive problems such as loss of appetite, upset stomach, constipation, inflammation of the stomach Fenugreek is also used for diabetes, painful menstruation, menopause, polycystic ovary syndrome, arthritis, poor thyroid function, and obesity. It is also used for conditions that affect heart health such as "hardening of the arteries" (atherosclerosis) and for high blood levels of certain fats including cholesterol and triglycerides. Fenugreek is used for kidney ailments, a vitamin deficiency disease called beriberi, mouth ulcers, boils, bronchitis, and infection of the tissues beneath the surface of the skin (cellulitis), tuberculosis, chronic coughs, chapped lips, baldness, cancer, Parkinson's disease, and exercise performance. Women who are breast-feeding sometimes use fenugreek to promote milk flow. Fenugreek is sometimes used as a poultice. That means it is wrapped in cloth, warmed, and applied directly to the skin to treat local pain and swelling (inflammation), muscle pain, pain and swelling of lymph nodes (lymphadenitis), pain in the toes (gout), wounds, leg ulcers, and eczema.
Fenugreek appears to slow absorption of sugars in the stomach and stimulate insulin. Both of these effects lower blood sugar in people with diabetes.