Fenugreek Extract (Trigonella foenum-graecum)

Fenugreek is the ripe seed of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Fabaceae), an annual legume and one of India's major seed-spice crops. Rajasthan is the largest producing state and India the leading producer worldwide, which keeps raw material available and sensibly priced through the year. Cleaned seed is milled and extracted with water or aqueous ethanol, and the extract is concentrated and dried to a free-flowing powder. What makes fenugreek awkward to buy is that the phrase 'fenugreek extract' covers at least three unrelated products. Saponin grades quote total or furostanolic saponins, commonly 20 to 60 per cent by UV or gravimetry, with protodioscin the usual named furostanolic marker on HPLC grades; the corresponding sapogenins are diosgenin and yamogenin, present in the seed itself at roughly 0.2 to 0.9 per cent diosgenin. Amino-acid grades quote 4-hydroxyisoleucine by HPLC at 10, 20 or 40 per cent — a non-protein amino acid characteristic of fenugreek, measured by an entirely different assay. Fibre grades quote galactomannan, which makes up roughly a quarter to a third of the seed, carries a galactose-to-mannose ratio near 1:1 and is the most cold-water-soluble of the common food galactomannans, so it behaves quite differently from guar or locust bean gum in a system. Trigonelline grades exist as well. Name the marker and the method and we will quote the matching grade; an enquiry for 'fenugreek extract 50%' on its own will return three incompatible offers. Two practical points close the file. Allergens first: fenugreek is a legume, and IgE cross-reactivity with peanut, chickpea, soy and lupin is documented in the clinical literature. It is not a mandatory declarable allergen under EU Annex II or US FALCPA, so it will not appear in an allergen box by law, but peanut-allergic consumers are a real exposure and most brands choose to name the legume source on the label and in the technical file. We state the legume origin on every specification we issue. Aroma second: fenugreek's maple-and-curry character comes from sotolon, whose odour threshold in water sits in the low parts per trillion, so even a small inclusion is detectable in a neutral base; debittered and reduced-aroma grades are available where that matters. The extract carries no milk, egg, fish, crustacean, gluten, tree-nut or animal input and suits vegan and vegetarian formulations. In the United States fenugreek is listed as a GRAS spice and natural seasoning at 21 CFR 182.10, though that listing covers the spice as used in food and a concentrated extract for supplement use is assessed on its own terms.