Fenugreek - Helba - حلبة - halba

Fenugreek dosage

Internally:

Appetite stimulation

Cold brew. Macerate 500 mg of powdered seeds in 150 ml of cold water for 3 hours, filter and, if desired, add a little honey to reduce the bitterness. Drink several times (up to 12 cups of 150 ml) per day. Do not prepare more than one cup at a time: the preparation will turn into a paste due to the mucilage contained in the seeds.
Dried and powdered seed capsules. Take 500 mg to 1 g, up to 6 times a day.
Fluid extract (1:1). Take 1 ml to 2 ml, 3 times a day.
Dye (1:5). Take 10 ml, 3 times a day.
Standardized extract. As standardization varies from one extract to another, follow the dosage recommended by the manufacturer.

Externally:
Local inflammations of the skin

Bath. Mix 50 g of powdered seeds with 250 ml of water and dilute this preparation in bath water.
Tincture or lotion. Apply a few drops of tincture directly to the inflamed area and rub in until it penetrates. Or use a lotion that you have made by diluting a few drops of tincture in a little vegetable oil.
Poultice. Mix 50 g of powdered seeds with 1 liter of hot water. Due to the mucilaginous nature of the seeds, a paste will form in a short time. Apply as a poultice to the affected areas.
History of fenugreek

Fenugreek is a small leguminous plant whose young leaves are eaten in salads and the seeds as a spice. It is among the oldest medicinal and culinary plants in human history. Its aromatic principles were already used in Pharaonic Egypt, around 1,500 years BC, to embalm the dead and purify the air in homes and places of worship. Its seeds were used in the making of bread, a culinary practice that persists in modern Egypt as well as in India.

In addition to its aperitif (open the appetite), digestive and toning properties, fenugreek was attributed the power to fight infections and inflammations of the respiratory tract, to facilitate childbirth and lactation, to treat skin wounds, pain rheumatic diseases, etc. As early as the 7th century BCE, it began to be cultivated in the Middle East. It was also introduced to India and China where it was quickly integrated into the Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia (India) and traditional Chinese medicine.

In the late 19th century, fenugreek was an ingredient in a popular women's remedy, Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound. Today, the food industry uses fenugreek to mimic maple flavor in certain products.

Although, in many countries, several of the traditional medicinal uses still appear in official pharmacopoeias, current research has mainly focused its efforts on the antidiabetes action of fenugreek seeds, in particular because of its high fiber content (50% ) and saponins.