Fenugreek is a plant which is from the Leguminosae family and carries the botanical name `Trigonella foenum-graecum Linn`. It is named differently in different parts of India like Menthya in Kannada, Ventayan and Uluva in Malayalam, Vendayam, and Venthiyam in Tamil, Menthulu and Mentulu in Telugu. This plant is known as Methi in Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, and Urdu.

It is grown as a green leafy vegetable and for its seeds. Fenugreek is used both as herb (the leaves) and as a spice (the seed) in India. Both plant and the seeds are considered of having immense medicinal values. The plant is also eaten as salad and cooked as a vegetable, popularly known as `Methi sag`. It is cultivated worldwide as a semi-arid crop and is widely favoured in the states of India as a popular spice.

The robust herb, Fenugreek has light green leaves, is 30 to 60 cm tall and produces slender beaked pods 10 to 15 cm long. Each pod contains 10 to 20 small hard yellowish brown seeds, which are smooth and oblong, about 3 mm long; each is grooved across one corner, giving it a hooked appearance.

India is considered to be one of the major producers and exporters of Fenugreek seeds. This spice occupies the third place in area and fourth in production among all the minor spices grown in this country. Fenugreek is exported to Saudi Arabia, Japan, Malaysia the USA, the UK, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

History says that the name Fenugreek or `foenum-graecum` is derived from Latin for "Greek hay". Basically from foreign origin, Fenugreek seeds have been recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamen. Since then it is grown extensively in the Indian states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. It is a cold season crop and is fairly tolerant to frost and very low temperature. It is best suited to tracts of moderate to low rainfall and is sown in all types of soil but perform better in loam and clayey loam with proper drainage. It can also be grown on black cotton soils.

In nutshell, fenugreek seed contains many substances like protein, starch, sugars, mucilage, mineral matters, volatile oil, fixed oil, vitamins and enzymes. Seeds are rich in essential amino acids.

Fenugreek has been used both as a food or food additive as well as in medicines. Fresh tender pods, leaves and shoots which are rich in iron, calcium, protein, vitamins A and C, are eaten as curried vegetable since ancient times in India, Egypt and other countries. As a spice, fenugreek also adds to nutritive value and flavor of foods. Because of this, fenugreek is of considerable importance in those countries in the Middle and Far East where meatless diets are customary for cultural and religious reasons. Moreover Fenugreek extract is an important ingredient for maple syrup. Fenugreek is mainly of interest as one of the principal odorous constituents of curry powder.

According to belief of the ancients, fenugreek stimulates the digestive process as well as the metabolism in general. The seeds are used in colic flatulence, dysentery, dyspepsia with loss of appetite, diarrhea, chronic cough, dropsy, enlargement of liver and spleen, rickets, gout and diabetes. The seeds are used as carminative, tonic, aphrodisiac; infusion is given to small pox patients as a cooling drink; roasted and then infused, used in sweets served to ladies during the post-natal period. Indeed in the Middle Ages, fenugreek was recommended as a cure for baldness in men. Today it is used in hair tonic preparations and as a cosmetic.

The entire Fenugreek plant contain ample composition of protein, starch, sugars, mucilage, mineral matters, volatile oil, fixed oil, vitamins and enzymes. Seeds are rich in essential amino acids. Even Fenugreek leaves and stems are also rich in calcium, iron, vitamin A and vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Although fresh leaves contain only 3 to 5 % protein, on dry basis, they are comparable to pulses. The fixed oil content of the seed is about 7 %. The fatty acids consist largely of oleic, linoletic and linolenic. It has marked drying properties, the dried oil being golden yellow in color and insoluble in ether. The oil has a disagreeable odor and bitter taste. The volatile oil content of fenugreek is less than 0.02 %.

Apart from culinary use Fenugreek is used as medicine since the ancient ages in India. The traditional uses of Fenugreek in ancient medicines include bronchial problems, tuberculosis, gout, general body pain, swollen glands, skin problems and low libido. A wide range of uses were found for fenugreek in ancient times. Medicinally Fenugreek seeds were used for the treatment of wounds, abscesses, arthritis, bronchitis, and digestive problems. Although the use of most spices in medicine has declined substantially in recent years, fenugreek is an important exception to the rule. Recent studies in England indicated that fenugreek seeds substantially contain the steroidal substance diosgenin, which is used as a starting material in the synthesis of sex hormones and oral contraceptives. The seed is used by Indian women for its power to promote lactation. Ground fine and mixed with cottonseed, it is fed to cows to increase the flow of milk. It is used as a conditioning powder to produce a glossy coat on horses.

Fenugreek has abundant usage related to cookery and medicinal properties. Not only in India Fenugreek is used in many other countries as basic and most important ingredient in culinary uses as well as preparing medicines. This plant is also used in Herbal therapies and treatments in many parts of India as well as in abroad.

The composition of Fenugreek seed on an average is:

Moisture: 6.3 %	Calcium: 1.3 %	Niacin: 6.0 mg/100 g
Protein: 9.5 %	Phosphorus: 0.48 %	Vitamin C: 12.0 mg/100g
Fat: 10.0 %	Iron: 0.011 %	Vitamin A: 1040 I.U. /100 g
Fiber: 18.5%	Sodium: 0.09 %	Calorific value: 370 calories/100g
Carbohydrates: 42.3 %	Potassium: 1.7 % Vitamin B1:0.41 mg/100 g	Gums: 23.06 %
Total ash: 13.4 %	Vitamin B2:0.36 mg/100 g.	Mucilage: 28.00 %.