Fenugreek leaves are commonly used as culinary vegetables. Steaming is considered the best method of cooking leaves as in this process
the vitamins are retained and the vegetable is palatable. The dried leaves can be compared to pulses
for their protein content. They supplement the sysine-deficient cereal diets. Lysine is amino acid which is fundamental constituents of all proteins. The
seeds of fenugreek contain a foetid and bitter fatty oil resin, mucilage and albumin. Their mineral
and vitamin contents are very high.
Natural Benefits and Curative Properties
The leaves of fenugreek are aromatic, cooling and mild aperient. Paste of the fresh leaves applied over the
scalp regularly, before taking bath, lengthens hair, preserves the natural colour and keeps the hair silky soft. Paste
of the fresh leaves, applied on the face every night before going to bed and washed with warm water, prevents pimples, blackheads, dryness of the face
and early appearance of wrinkles. It improves complexion and demulcent, diuretic, carminative which relieves gastric discomforts, lactagogue, which
increases the flow of milk, astringent and aphrodisiac tonic. They are the best cleansers
to body, highly mucus-solvents and soothing agents. The seeds are used in the preparation of hair tonics and cosmetics in Java.
Digestive Disorders
Fenugreek leaves are highly beneficial in the treatment of indigestion, flatulence and sluggish liver. They help in the
healing of mouth ulcers. An infusion of the leaves is used as a gargle for recurrent ulcers. Boiled and fried in butter, they are
valuable in biliousness. The seeds are also useful in the treatment of colic, flatulence, dysentery diarrhoea and dyspepsia.
Anaemia
The leaves help in blood formation. The cooked leaves are extremely useful for adolescent girls to prevent anaemia and run down condition which is generally
associated with the onset of puberty and sudden spurt of growth. The seeds of fenugreek
are also valuable in anaemia, being rich in iron.
Pregnancy and Lactation
The seeds are fried in butter(ghee) and finely powered. This powder is mixed with wheat flour and sugar to prepare a paste (halwa). This preparation, taken in small
quantity daily, helps in quick normalisation after delivery. The seeds, made into a gruel, are given as diet to nursing mothers for increasing
the flow of milk.
Deadened Sense of Taste and Smell
The seeds help restore a deadened sense of taste or smell. The loss of sense of taste occurs due to improper functioning of the salivary glands. They often become
plugged with mucus and accumulated juices, causing swelling. Similarly,
the sense of smell is obstructed due to long accumulation of mucus or other impurities in the nose where the olfactory nerves are based.
Regular use of fenugreek has proved beneficial in both these cases.
Dandruff
Fenugreek seeds are useful in the removal of dandruff. Two tablespoonfuls of the seeds should be soaked overnight in water.
In the morning the softened seeds should be ground into a fine paste. This paste should be applied all over the scalp and left on the
head for half an hour. The hair should then be washed thoroughly with soapnut solution or shikakai. Paste of the fresh leaves
of fenugreek applied over the scalp regularly before taking bath also cures dandruff.
Fevers
A tea made from fenugreek seeds is equal in value to quinine for reducing fevers. It is
particularly valuable as a cleansing and soothing drink. The fenugreek seeds, when moistened with water are themselves slightly mucilageous.
A tea made from them has the power to dissolve more sticky substance as body mucus.
Stomach Disorders
The fenugreek tea soothes inflamed stomach and intestines and cleanses the stomach, bowels, kidneys and respiratory tract of excess
mucus. It is beneficial in the healing of peptic ulcers as the mild coating of gum like lubricant material deposited by fenugreek, as it passes
through the stomach and intestines, provides a protective shell for ulcers.
Respiratory Infections
During the early acute stages of any of the respiratory tract infections, such as bronchitis, influenza, sinusities, catarrah and
suspected pneumonia, fenugreek tea will help the body to produce perspiration, dispel toxicity and shorten the period of fever. It should be taken upto four cups
daily. The quantity is reduced as condition improves. To improve flavour, a few drops of
lemon juice can be used. During the treatment, no form of food or nourishment should be taken as is followed during fasting
and fenugreek will allow the body to correct these respiratory problems in a few days.
Soar Throat
The gargle made from fenugreek seeds is the best for ordinary sore throat.
When preparing a gargle, the solution should be much stronger than a tea. Two tablespoonfuls of fenugreek seeds
should be put into a quart of cold water and allowed to simmer for half an hour over a low flame.
It should be allowed to cool to a bearable temperature. It should then be strained and entire quantity used as a gargle.
Bad breath and Body Odour
The tea made from fenugreek is also beneficial in the case of bad breath and body odour. The unpleasant odours emanate from
body openings due to accumulations of hardened mucus and other toxic substances in the nasal and oral passages, the gastrointestinal tract, the urinary tract, the bloodstream and
vagina. The fenugreek tea, taken regularly will help remove these accumulation from such spots where mouth wash and soap
can never penetrate.
Diabetes
Fenugreek seeds have been found highly effective in the treatment of diabetes. Fenugreek seeds when given in varying doses of 25 gms to 100 gms daily, diminish
reactive hyperglycaemia in diabetic patients. Levels of glucose, serum cholesterol and tryglycerides were also
significantly reduced in the diabetes patients when the seeds were consumed.
Swellings
Due to their cooling properties, a poultice of the leaves can be applied with advantage in external
and internal swellings and burns.
