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01.05.2022

Fenugreek fights menopause symptoms

Supplementation with an extract of the seeds of the fenugreek plant combats classic symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and depression. This is apparent from a human study from India.

Study
Researchers from Aman Hospital and Research Center in Vadodara in India divided 48 menopausal women into 2 groups. They gave the women in one group a placebo daily for 6 weeks, while the women in the experimental group took 2 capsules daily, each containing 250 milligrams of fenugreek extract.

The research was funded by the Indian Akay Natural Ingredients, [akay-group.com] a producer of extracts from herbs that also have culinary applications.

The researchers call the extract they used FenuSmart. FenuSmart is an alcohol-based extract of fenugreek seeds. It consists of 42.6 percent 'saponins' (a somewhat outdated catch-all term for a range of plant substances), 10.3 percent protodioscin and 3.1 percent trigonelline.

Akay has patented FenuSmart. We honestly don't know if there are any supplements on the market that contain FenuSmart.

Before and on the last day of the supplementation period, the women completed questionnaires that allowed the researchers to estimate the severity of typical menopausal symptoms.

Results
During the study period, the scores of both groups improved, but the decline in the experimental group was more pronounced than that of the placebo group. Fenugreek reduced scores for hot flashes, night sweats, feelings of depression, insomnia and vaginal dryness.

Click on the figures below for a larger version.

Mechanism
In other studies, fenugreek increases the concentration of testosterone. In some of those studies, conducted on male subjects, fenugreek has both testosterone-boosting and anti-estrogenic properties.

In research with female subjects, fenugreek increases both testosterone and estradiol. The latter was also the case in the research that we discuss in this web report.

Click on the table below for a larger version.

The researchers suspect that protodioscin changes into DHEA. Frankly, we don't believe in this theory. We have no idea how fenugreek should work.

Conclusion
Fenugreek extract could be a potential natural agent for the management of post and perimenopausal discomforts and has to be explored in future studies.

Source:
J Food Biochem. 2020;44:e13507.

More:
Fenugreek extract raises testosterone levels in women 16.02.2020
Daily capsule containing Furosap fenugreek extract boosts free testosterone concentration 05.09.2017
Fenugreek extract Testofen doubles sexual activity in over-forty males 25.04.2016

Archives:
Menopause
Fenugreek

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