Fenugreek Herbarium
Latin Name: Trigonella foenum-graecum (L.)
Common names: Bird’s foot, Greek clover, foenugreek, Greek hay, Greek hay seed, and trigonella. (Petersen, 2018, p. 45).
Family: Fabaceae / Leguminosae
Descriptive Characteristics: Chevallier (2016) says this annual only gets to 32 inches tall and is strongly aromatic. The leaves are trifoliate, the flowers are peaklike and yellowish white. It also has sickle-shaped pods (p. 277). Sounds like an odd-looking plant to me.
Part of the plant used: Seed, powdered. Later in the book, on page 49, Petersen says leaves can be used as well.
Texture: They are smooth
Color: a light yellow, yellowish white
Aroma:
Flavor:
Constituents: Coumarin, diosgenin (synthesizes hormones), proteins (lysine, tryptophan), oils, oleoresins, and gums (Petersen, 2018, p. 46). Alkaloids, free amino acids (4-hydroxyisoleucine, histadine, lysine, arginine), flavonoids, saponins, lipids, mucilaginous fiber, vitamins (nicotine acid), and minerals (Petersen, 2018, p. 48). Chevallier (2016) adds the alkaline trigonelline, the saponins are based on diosgenin, proteins, volatile oil, and the vitamins A, B, and C (p. 227).
Therapeutic Actions: Analgesic and anticarcinogenesis
Indications: diabetes (promotes healthy blood sugar), loss of appetite, dyspepsia, gastritis, constipation, atherosclerosis, high serum cholesterol and triglycerides, and lactation (Petersen, 2018, p. 45). Kidney ailments, hernia, beriberi, impotence, fever, mouth ulcers, boils, bronchitis, cellulitis, chronic coughs, chapped lips, baldness, and cancer. Topically it can be used as a poultice for gout, wounds, leg ulcers, and eczema (Petersen, 2018, p. 46) Chevallier (2016) says this was used in an ancient Egyptian burn cream and was used in ancient Egypt to induce labor. It has been used for gynecological issues since the first century. This herb is used while sick as a general nourishing herb and helps with weight gain.
Formulary:
Heinerman (1996, p. 232-4).
2 capsules per day for 8 weeks lowered cholesterol.
A tea for allergies can be made with some effort: 8t seed presoaked in 4c of water for 5 hours. Boil for 2 minutes, strain then drink. Drink 1 c per day for 2 months before hay fever season begins.
Tinnitus: 2 ½ soup spoons of seeds in 3c water. Soak over night. Drink a cup in the morning and evening. Replace a cup of water each time. When the strength is gone, start over. If it’s boiled, it becomes bitter but honey fixes it.
Griffin, J. (1997).
Blood sugar (p. 154): 2T suma root, 2T fenugreek seeds, 1/2t or 2 slices licorice or ginger root, 2T ho shou wu (Foti), and 2T chinese foxglove. Simmer in 2c water for 30 min. Strain, drink ½ c 2/day.
Griffin is a cookbook of natural healing and placed in the references. I don’t want my herbariums to turn into cookbooks but knowing where to go for recipes is a good thing. Powdered fenugreek in rice is a good thing, apparently.
Golden Fenugreek Sauce: ¾ c cooked potatoes, 1 medium cooked carrot, 1 1/3 c water, 2 T chopped cashews, 1/2t salt, 1T lemon juice, 1T lime juice, ½ t chopped dill, powdered contents of 4 gelatin capsules of fenugreek. Combine in food processor. Heat and serve over hot rice or cooked vegetables.
Dosage:
Petersen (2018, p. 47) these are all in the form of powdered seed
Healthy blood sugar: 10-15g/day with meals
Hyperlipidemia: .6-2.5g 2/day with meals
Type 1 diabetes: 100g debitterized, divided into 2 equal doses
Type 2 diabetes: 2.5g in capsules 2/day for 3 months or 25g in 2 equal doses.
Pizzorno and Murray,2013, p. 1339
Type 1 diabetes: 50g 2/day in capsules
Type 2: 1g/day or 15g soaked in water
Safety: The family may have allergic effects. Unknown safety for use in pregnancy. (Petersen, 2018, p. 50-1) There is a long list of drug interactions on page 51-2 so use with caution.
Lab, Notes And Media:
I currently have a lab going and will update this as I progress through. I decided to do the allergy recipe above. Everything I found before I found it in Heinerman, said capsules. Even he said capsules and I don’t consider that a lab. Filling a capsule doesn’t teach you much about an herb. I did scale my lab back. I used 1t in ½ cup water. I have the timer set for 5 hours and will proceed from there once the timer goes off. After it went off, I boiled it for 2 minutes. I just strained it but haven’t tasted it yet. I just tasted it and it is bitter but no so bitter I can’t drink this little bit in my cup. I would need to add honey if it were a full cup.
Common names: Bird’s foot, Greek clover, foenugreek, Greek hay, Greek hay seed, and trigonella. (Petersen, 2018, p. 45).
Family: Fabaceae / Leguminosae
Descriptive Characteristics: Chevallier (2016) says this annual only gets to 32 inches tall and is strongly aromatic. The leaves are trifoliate, the flowers are peaklike and yellowish white. It also has sickle-shaped pods (p. 277). Sounds like an odd-looking plant to me.
Part of the plant used: Seed, powdered. Later in the book, on page 49, Petersen says leaves can be used as well.
Texture: They are smooth
Color: a light yellow, yellowish white
Aroma:
Flavor:
Constituents: Coumarin, diosgenin (synthesizes hormones), proteins (lysine, tryptophan), oils, oleoresins, and gums (Petersen, 2018, p. 46). Alkaloids, free amino acids (4-hydroxyisoleucine, histadine, lysine, arginine), flavonoids, saponins, lipids, mucilaginous fiber, vitamins (nicotine acid), and minerals (Petersen, 2018, p. 48). Chevallier (2016) adds the alkaline trigonelline, the saponins are based on diosgenin, proteins, volatile oil, and the vitamins A, B, and C (p. 227).
Therapeutic Actions: Analgesic and anticarcinogenesis
Indications: diabetes (promotes healthy blood sugar), loss of appetite, dyspepsia, gastritis, constipation, atherosclerosis, high serum cholesterol and triglycerides, and lactation (Petersen, 2018, p. 45). Kidney ailments, hernia, beriberi, impotence, fever, mouth ulcers, boils, bronchitis, cellulitis, chronic coughs, chapped lips, baldness, and cancer. Topically it can be used as a poultice for gout, wounds, leg ulcers, and eczema (Petersen, 2018, p. 46) Chevallier (2016) says this was used in an ancient Egyptian burn cream and was used in ancient Egypt to induce labor. It has been used for gynecological issues since the first century. This herb is used while sick as a general nourishing herb and helps with weight gain.
Formulary:
Heinerman (1996, p. 232-4).
2 capsules per day for 8 weeks lowered cholesterol.
A tea for allergies can be made with some effort: 8t seed presoaked in 4c of water for 5 hours. Boil for 2 minutes, strain then drink. Drink 1 c per day for 2 months before hay fever season begins.
Tinnitus: 2 ½ soup spoons of seeds in 3c water. Soak over night. Drink a cup in the morning and evening. Replace a cup of water each time. When the strength is gone, start over. If it’s boiled, it becomes bitter but honey fixes it.
Griffin, J. (1997).
Blood sugar (p. 154): 2T suma root, 2T fenugreek seeds, 1/2t or 2 slices licorice or ginger root, 2T ho shou wu (Foti), and 2T chinese foxglove. Simmer in 2c water for 30 min. Strain, drink ½ c 2/day.
Griffin is a cookbook of natural healing and placed in the references. I don’t want my herbariums to turn into cookbooks but knowing where to go for recipes is a good thing. Powdered fenugreek in rice is a good thing, apparently.
Golden Fenugreek Sauce: ¾ c cooked potatoes, 1 medium cooked carrot, 1 1/3 c water, 2 T chopped cashews, 1/2t salt, 1T lemon juice, 1T lime juice, ½ t chopped dill, powdered contents of 4 gelatin capsules of fenugreek. Combine in food processor. Heat and serve over hot rice or cooked vegetables.
Dosage:
Petersen (2018, p. 47) these are all in the form of powdered seed
Healthy blood sugar: 10-15g/day with meals
Hyperlipidemia: .6-2.5g 2/day with meals
Type 1 diabetes: 100g debitterized, divided into 2 equal doses
Type 2 diabetes: 2.5g in capsules 2/day for 3 months or 25g in 2 equal doses.
Pizzorno and Murray,2013, p. 1339
Type 1 diabetes: 50g 2/day in capsules
Type 2: 1g/day or 15g soaked in water
Safety: The family may have allergic effects. Unknown safety for use in pregnancy. (Petersen, 2018, p. 50-1) There is a long list of drug interactions on page 51-2 so use with caution.
Lab, Notes And Media:
I currently have a lab going and will update this as I progress through. I decided to do the allergy recipe above. Everything I found before I found it in Heinerman, said capsules. Even he said capsules and I don’t consider that a lab. Filling a capsule doesn’t teach you much about an herb. I did scale my lab back. I used 1t in ½ cup water. I have the timer set for 5 hours and will proceed from there once the timer goes off. After it went off, I boiled it for 2 minutes. I just strained it but haven’t tasted it yet. I just tasted it and it is bitter but no so bitter I can’t drink this little bit in my cup. I would need to add honey if it were a full cup.
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Research:
I have a LOT of studies for this herb downloaded and it will lake me ages to go through them all. I have more than for both papers I’m doing combined for the research into this one herb. I will be updating this as I go through all of these. In fact, I’m thinking of writing an herbarium book but adding the botanical identifiers so people will be better able to identify the plant because there is a serious lacking here. For now, I want to highlight an interesting article, a little dated, but it looks at the potential for using fenugreek to treat cancer. In a study of using it in rats, Raju, et al. (2004) actually induced apoptosis in colon cancer. My understanding is this is a cancer usually treated by removing the colon rather than destroying the cancer so I found this study very interesting.
References
Chevallier, A. (2016). Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine: 550 Herbs and Remedies for common Ailments. New York, NY: DK, a Division of Penguin Random House, LLC. p. 277-8.
Griffin, J. (1997). Mother Nature’s Herbal: A Complete Guide for Experiencing the Beauty, Knowledge, & Synergy of Everything that Grows. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications. p. 8, 11, 108, 145, 150, 154, 172, 189, 197.
Heinerman, J. (1996). Healing Herbs and Spices, Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of. Reward Books. p. 32-4.
Mills, S. & Bone, K. (2010). The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety. Elsevier Limited. P. 59, 61, 77, 291, 400-4.
Peterson, D. (2018). Herb 504: Advanced Herbal Materica Medica III. American College of Healthcare Sciences. P. 45-53.
Pizzorno, J. E. and Murray, M. T. (2013). Textbook of Natural Medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier. P. 1339.
Raju, J., Patlolla, J. M. R., Swamy, M. V., and Rao, C. V. (2004). Diosgenin, a Steroid Saponin of Trigonella foenum graecum (Fenugreek), Inhibits Azoxymethane-Induced Aberrant Crypt Foci Formation in F344 Rats and Induces Apoptosis in HT-29 Human Colon Cancer Cells. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 13(8).
I have a LOT of studies for this herb downloaded and it will lake me ages to go through them all. I have more than for both papers I’m doing combined for the research into this one herb. I will be updating this as I go through all of these. In fact, I’m thinking of writing an herbarium book but adding the botanical identifiers so people will be better able to identify the plant because there is a serious lacking here. For now, I want to highlight an interesting article, a little dated, but it looks at the potential for using fenugreek to treat cancer. In a study of using it in rats, Raju, et al. (2004) actually induced apoptosis in colon cancer. My understanding is this is a cancer usually treated by removing the colon rather than destroying the cancer so I found this study very interesting.
References
Chevallier, A. (2016). Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine: 550 Herbs and Remedies for common Ailments. New York, NY: DK, a Division of Penguin Random House, LLC. p. 277-8.
Griffin, J. (1997). Mother Nature’s Herbal: A Complete Guide for Experiencing the Beauty, Knowledge, & Synergy of Everything that Grows. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications. p. 8, 11, 108, 145, 150, 154, 172, 189, 197.
Heinerman, J. (1996). Healing Herbs and Spices, Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of. Reward Books. p. 32-4.
Mills, S. & Bone, K. (2010). The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety. Elsevier Limited. P. 59, 61, 77, 291, 400-4.
Peterson, D. (2018). Herb 504: Advanced Herbal Materica Medica III. American College of Healthcare Sciences. P. 45-53.
Pizzorno, J. E. and Murray, M. T. (2013). Textbook of Natural Medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier. P. 1339.
Raju, J., Patlolla, J. M. R., Swamy, M. V., and Rao, C. V. (2004). Diosgenin, a Steroid Saponin of Trigonella foenum graecum (Fenugreek), Inhibits Azoxymethane-Induced Aberrant Crypt Foci Formation in F344 Rats and Induces Apoptosis in HT-29 Human Colon Cancer Cells. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 13(8).
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