Trigonella foenum-graecum and Its Bioactive Compounds Having Potential Antidiabetic Activity

Most drugs are available in the market for use in diabetes management. Their side effects and high costs, however, underline the need for natural herbal medicines. Diabetes is a significant health problem that can cause substantially higher complications. The treatment of diabetes is still extremely unsatisfactory, despite numerous preventive methods and armoires of medication. The management of diabetes still remains grossly unsatisfactory. Diabetes mellitus is a critical disease with constantly increasing death rates. It is characterized by elevated level of blood glucose due to the insufficient production of insulin and insulin resistance, or both, causing abnormalities in carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins metabolism. The immediate need is to identify novel food based bioactive agents or drugs for curing or preventing diabetes, with comparatively fewer side effects. Plant secondary metabolites have long been known to have health benefits against various oxidative stress related diseases including diabetes. Trigonella foenum-graecum herb has an enormous potential to prevent or cure diabetes more than other plant species especially due to the presence of unique active constituents such as alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, and saponins. Furthermore, the use of fenugreek as a hypoglycemic official medication is still to be examined due to a lack of adequate science or clinical studies. The preventive and healing properties of this potent herb against diabetes and its complications are recommended to be carefully examined. This chapter presents information on bioactive compounds of Trigonella foenum-graecum and its strong antidiabetic power.