Effect of sprouted fenugreek seeds on various diseases: a review

For many past years of mankind, plants were using as a source to alleviate or cure chronic illness such as diabetes, hypolipidemic, antiarthritic, cardio-vascular diseases, cancer, antibacterial etc. Herbal plants are rich in pharmacologically active compounds and hence these medications are used in worldwide in many years. Fenugreek is an annual crop plant and the biological name is Trigonella foenum graecumis family ‘Fabaceae’, its common name is “methi”. It is an herb cultivated for its seeds majorly in Mediterranean countries. In India, it is mainly cultivated in regions of Rajasthan (maximum production), Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Apart from the flavouring properties of its seeds, it has been able to mark its presence in Ayurvedic system of medicines since ages, owing to its nutritional and therapeutic benefits. It is a rich source of fibers, proteins, vitamin A and C, iron and calcium. It is a highly recommended medicinal plant for treatments of various dysfunctions and diseases, as recorded in history of Ayurveda. Being rich in photochemical like phenols, flavonoids, alkaloids and tannins, it has been tagged as antidiabetic, anticarcinogenic, hypocholesterolemic, antioxidant and immunological booster. Many studies have reported antioxidant properties of fenugreek seeds,1 Fenugreek seed powder supplementation in diet has also been reported to reduce oxidative damage biomarkers in alloxan-diabetic rats,2 Further polyphenols present in the seeds are known to prevent oxidative haemolysis and lipid peroxidation induced by hydrogen peroxide in vitro, in human erythrocytes.3 Germination or sprouting is a processing intervention by which nutritional content of the crop can be enhanced significantly.4 Sprouting has shown to improve the nutritional profile of fenugreek seeds and decrease the fiber content such that it gets digested and absorbed in the system more easily. Also, germinated fenugreek seeds have higher antioxidant content and enhanced antidiabetic effect than its boiled counterpart.5 This effect was attributed to the release or higher bioavailability of bound antioxidants upon germination. Physical conditions such as light and temperature, genotype6 and chemical composition of seeds have also been reported to be a cause of variation on antioxidant properties and germination of fenugreek seeds.7 Few reports are available on the effect of germination on total phenol content and antioxidant properties of fenugreek seeds. These studies either employed use of natural elicitors like fish protein hydrolysates, lactoferrin and oregano extract for sprouting fenugreek seeds.8 Different fractions of the germinated seeds were evaluated for the phytochemical analysis.9 However, very few studies have been conducted on antioxidant properties of whole aqueous extract of germinated fenugreek seeds of varieties available locally in Delhi/ NCR region of India. Thus, present study is aimed to investigate the effect of germination on total phenolic content and antioxidant properties of fenugreek seeds in Delhi/NCR region for the purpose of using it as a nutraceutical, showing maximum potential of antioxidant activity under given conditions.10