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Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum): Nutritional, Health Properties and Food Uses

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Fenugreek

Abstract

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) belongs to legume family and finds its origin from South Eastern Europe and Western Asia, but now grown mainly in India and many parts of the world including Northern Africa and the United States. Over 80% of the total world’s production of fenugreek is contributed by India, it occupied an area of nearly 219,000 ha with total production of 247,000 tonnes in 2015–16. Fenugreek seeds are extensively used as spice in Indian cuisine for flavoring, while its leaves, germinated seed, and tender shoots are used as vegetables. The seeds are aromatic, pleasantly bitter, and slightly sweet with antidiabetic and hypocholesterolemic, galactogouge, and carminative properties. They are also reported to have remedial and nutritive properties and trigger digestion process. Fenugreek seeds contain a central hard and yellow embryo surrounded by a corneous and comparatively large, white, and semi-transparent layer of endosperm which is further surrounded by a tenacious and dark brown husk. Fenugreek seeds contain high proteins (27.57%), soluble (30.6%) and insoluble (20.6%) dietary fiber, crude fat (6.71%), and minerals such as calcium, iron, and β-carotene. The seeds are also rich in polysaccharides and galactomannan. In India, boiling, pressure cooking, roasting, or germination of fenugreek seeds are done to make the seeds soft, palatable and to remove its bitterness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Technology, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, India

    Sanju Bala Dhull, Ankita Chandak & Pooja Bamal

  2. Department of Energy and Environmental Science, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, India

    Anju Malik & Mohd. Kashif Kidwai

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Correspondence to Sanju Bala Dhull .

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  1. Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India

    M. Naeem

  2. Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Tariq Aftab

  3. Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India

    M. Masroor A. Khan

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Dhull, S.B., Chandak, A., Bamal, P., Malik, A., Kidwai, M.K. (2021). Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum): Nutritional, Health Properties and Food Uses. In: Naeem, M., Aftab, T., Khan, M.M.A. (eds) Fenugreek. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1197-1_10

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