
August 04, 2021

Science > Fenugreek


Common Name


Scientific Name

Trigonella foenum-graecum L.


Fenugreek is a one- year old plant with white flowers and hard, yellowish-brown, angled seeds and belongs to fabaceae or fabacecae family. Its height reaches up to 30 to 60 centimeters. Its leaves are three-parts, jagged and egg-shaped and in gray-green color. Every of its thin sword-shaped pods contain 10-20 seeds. Fenugreek seeds are small and their length is 5mm. It is native to South Europe and West Asia regions and according to some experts and researchers, this plant was native to Iran at first and then it was transferred to other regions. Fenugreek is cultivated in India, China, Africa, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Ukraine, Spain and Italy extensively.

Extensive distribution of fenugreek cultivation all over the world is indicative of its adaption with various climatic conditions and growth environment; colder nights may have a useful effect on sapoenin content (steroidal saponins) of fenugreek seed. In traditional books it is known as halabeh. In France it is called Trigonella. The name of this plant comes from Greek word Trigonous that means triangle, because of its triangle-shaped leaflets and “Foenum-graecum” that means “hay Greek” or “Greek grass” because of its abundant applications in ancient Greece.

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