Fenugreek

Fenugreek is still purported to be used to treat several dozen conditions, but its positive affect on diabetes seems to be the most medically well documented. Fenugreek seeds have traditionally been used in the treatment of diabetes for centuries.
In the last several decades, various well-controlled studies have identified a hypoglycemic activity of various fenugreek seed extracts in rabbits, rats, and dogs. While there have been some human studies in India, the size has been too small to come up with a statistically significant result, although they do show that the seed extracts have a hypoglycemic affect in diabetics, which is to say it lowers the blood sugar. It is believed the three chemical constituents of fenugreek that affect diabetes are trigonelline, 4-hydroxyisoleucine, and fenugreekine. The trigonelline showed a hypoglycemic affect by slowing glucose absorption from the intestinal tract, therefore, avoiding spikes in patient blood levels after meals. The 4-hydroxyisoleucine, on the other hand, directly appears to stimulate the production of insulin by the pancreas. Fenugreek can be used in both non-insulin-dependent diabetics and insulin-dependent diabetics. Fenugreek is contraindicated in children and especially in pregnancy, as it can have an oxytocic affect and stimulate uterine contractions causing premature deliveries.
Besides its potential drug interactions, fenugreek has a number of potential herbal interactions as well.
Fenugreek can have anticoagulant and antiplatelet potential. Therefore, people who are taking medicines that can thin the blood, or have potential for thinning the blood, should perhaps not take this. Because this particular drug lowers blood sugar, it should be used with caution in patients taking other products that lower blood sugar, as concomitant use could cause a low blood sugar reaction. Other drug classes in which Fenugreek is potentially contraindicated in are patients taking corticosteroids and estrogens.
Fenugreek seeds contain a fair amount of diosgenin, a chemical compound that's often used to create semisynthetic forms of the female sex hormone estrogen. While estrogen has many effects on the body, two relate principally to breast enlargement. The hormone causes growth of breast cells and contributes to water retention. In fact, many women who take the Pill, which contains estrogen, for birth control often experience as a side effect the feeling of breast fullness caused by water retention. Plant estrogen (phytoestrogen) from sources like Fenugreek does not lead to uncomfortable breast fullness.