Role of Fenugreek in the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus in prediabetes

BACKGROUND It is hypothesized that dietary supplementation with Fenugreek modulates glucose homeostasis and potentially prevents diabetes mellitus in people with prediabetes. The objective of present study is to determine whether Fenugreek can prevent the outcome of T2DM in non diabetic people with prediabetes. METHODS A 3-year randomized, controlled, parallel study for efficacy of Fenugreek (n = 66) and matched controls (n = 74) was conducted in men and women aged 30-70 years with criteria of prediabetes. Fenugreek powder, 5 g twice a day before meals, was given to study subjects and progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was monitored at baseline and every 3 months for the 3-year study. RESULTS By the end of intervention period, cumulative incidence rate of diabetes reduced significantly in Fenugreek group when compared to controls. The Fenugreek group also saw a significant reduction in fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPPG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) whereas serum insulin increased significantly. It was observed that controls had 4.2 times higher chance of developing diabetes compared to subjects in the Fenugreek group. The outcome of diabetes in Fenugreek group was positively associated with serum insulin and negatively associated with insulin resistance (HOMA IR). CONCLUSIONS Dietary supplementation of 10 g Fenugreek/day in prediabetes subjects was associated with lower conversion to diabetes with no adverse effects and beneficial possibly due to its decreased insulin resistance.