Effect of Fenugreek on Blood Sugar and Insulin in Diabetic Humans (Fenugreek)

December 17, 2015 updated by: Frank Greenway, Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Pilot Study of the Effect of Fenugreek on Blood Sugar and Insulin in Diabetic Humans

The purpose of this study is to determine if bread containing fenugreek reduces blood sugar and insulin compared to identical bread without fenugreek.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek) has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes. Fenugreek has been demonstrated to lower blood glucose in response to a glucose load while leaving the levels of serum insulin unaffected in rodents. This effect of lowering blood sugar without changing insulin levels demonstrates improved insulin action. Fenugreek has also been shown to decrease glucose absorption by inhibiting intestinal disaccharidases. Fenugreek decreases glycohemoglobin in diabetic rodents. An amino acid extracted from fenugreek seeds, 4-hydroxyisoleucine, decreases glucose and insulin in diabetic rodents, improves glucose tolerance and stimulates insulin secretion from isolated pancreatic rodent islets.

Fenugreek imparts a bitter taste to products into which it is placed, and this property has limited its use in treating diabetes. Dr. Losso and his associates developed a process that allows incorporation of fenugreek into bread and other bakery goods without imparting a bitter taste, and the success of this process was confirmed in taste testing. This study is designed to evaluate the effect of fenugreek bread made by Dr. Losso's proprietary process on glucose and insulin.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

8

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Louisiana
      • Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, 70808
        • Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Community sample

Description

Inclusion criteria:

  • Healthy male or female with diet controlled diabetes mellitus.
  • Between 18 and 70 years of age.

Exclusion criteria:

  • Pregnant or nursing.
  • Taking medication for diabetes or a medication like oral cortisone that is known to affect blood sugar or blood insulin.
  • Taking any chronic medication that has not had a stable dose for 1 month or longer. Oral contraceptives are accepted.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Case-Only
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
1
Group with diabetes mellitus
Dietary supplement: Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek)
2 slices of bread containing 5 grams of the natural herb fenugreek 2 times, 1 week apart

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Area under the curve for insulin and glucose
Time Frame: 4 hrs. after eating the bread
4 hrs. after eating the bread

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Any adverse event experienced by the subjects
Time Frame: 2 times, 1 wk. apart
2 times, 1 wk. apart

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Collaborators

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Frank Greenway, M.D., Pennington Biomedical Research Center
  • Study Director: Amber Torres, RD, LDN, Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

November 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2008

Study Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 9, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 17, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

January 18, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

December 18, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 17, 2015

Last Verified

December 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PBRC 27031

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Subscribe