Fenugreek

Monira Alwhaibi et al. (2017) · Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM

This cross-sectional survey of 178 mothers of young children in the Central Appalachian Region of the United States explored how many use herbal remedies and which factors are linked to that use. Herbal remedies are plant-based products taken for health purposes, and they are the most common form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM, health approaches used alongside or instead of conventional care) among American adults. The authors framed the work with the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking, which holds that a person's background, past experiences, mood and beliefs shape where information is sought and, in turn, whether action follows, here the use of herbal remedies. The participants were women aged 18 or older with at least one child under three years of age, living in Central Appalachia and mostly in West Virginia, with a mean age of 31.3 years. They were recruited through social media groups, listserv emails, daycares and physician's offices, and completed an online survey. One item asked whether any herbal remedy had been used in the past six months, with follow-ups on which remedy and which condition. Two new five-point scales captured how often six information sources were used and how strongly herbal remedies were believed to be safe and effective. One-third of the women (33.5%) reported using herbal remedies in the past six months. Fenugreek was the most widely used remedy (35.1%), followed by honey (8.8%), chamomile (5.3%) and ginger (5.3%). The main reasons were stimulating or increasing breast milk production (38.6%) and treating cold or flu symptoms (26.3%). Women with the highest information seeking scores had 3.61 times the odds of using herbal remedies compared with those with the lowest (95% CI 1.433-9.77), meaning that more active information seeking went with more use. Women with the highest belief in herbal safety and efficacy had 4.02 times the odds (95% CI 1.468-9.57). Part-time or unemployed women had 2.98 times the odds of full-time employed women (95% CI 1.05-8.47), while education, income and Appalachian identity showed no association. The internet was the most frequently used information source (mean 3.2 out of 5). The authors conclude that herbal remedy use is common in this region and propose that public health efforts and communication from health care providers could raise awareness of the safety and efficacy of herbal remedies. The survey recorded use and beliefs only; it did not test whether any remedy worked, and safety was not assessed. Limitations include a sample drawn mostly from West Virginia, self-selection in an internet-based survey, self-reported answers open to recall bias, and no data on whether use was regular or occasional. The authors call for further research, including qualitative work, on what health information women seek.

Ali Shields et al. (2023) · JAMA dermatology

Many people with acne turn to over-the-counter vitamins, minerals, herbal extracts, and probiotics hoping for a gentler alternative to prescription treatments -- but how well do these actually work? This systematic review pooled 42 randomized trials (3,346 participants total) testing oral nutraceuticals for acne, following a pre-registered research protocol and searching four major databases through January 2023. The interventions ranged from zinc and vitamins to green tea extract, fenugreek, probiotics, fish oil, and a traditional Korean herbal formula, giving a rare side-by-side look at how these popular supplements stack up against placebo. Reviewers independently screened thousands of records down to 42 qualifying randomized trials and rated each one's quality using a standard bias-assessment tool. Most trials (27 of 42) were rated poor quality, 11 fair, and only 4 good -- a reminder that supplement research overall is thinner than for prescription acne treatments. Outcomes tracked included clinician-rated improvement, lesion counts, patient-reported satisfaction, and side effects. Results varied widely by supplement. Zinc, the most-studied option, worked in only about half its trials and caused the most stomach-related side effects of anything tested, though higher doses (600 mg/day) tended to work better than lower ones. Vitamin D (1,000 IU/day) meaningfully reduced inflamed acne lesions in people who were vitamin D-deficient. Green tea extract cut inflammatory lesion counts but did not improve people's reported quality of life. Probiotics -- especially certain Lactobacillus strains -- showed the most consistently positive results across several small trials and were well tolerated. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids reduced both inflamed and non-inflamed lesions after about 10 weeks. Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) helped, but only at a dose far above typical nutritional intake. Fenugreek seed extract underperformed compared with an antibiotic in one small study. Four options -- vitamin D, green tea extract, probiotics, and the herbal formula cheongsangbangpoong-tang -- had the strongest (though still limited) supporting evidence. Vitamin D and omega-3/6 fatty acids carried the lowest risk in these trials, since their effective doses are close to normal nutritional intake, while zinc showed mixed results and a higher side-effect rate. Overall, most of this evidence comes from small, lower-quality trials; none of these supplements was tested as a replacement for proven acne treatments — the trials studied them as possible add-ons.