Fenugreek
Herbal extract studied for libido and testosterone markers. Results across trials are inconsistent.
Supplements
Research records
Historical source snapshot. Not freshly verified, not a recommendation. Study findings, community accounts and app defaults are not interchangeable.
Publication suitability · 2026-10-15: Historical reference only; not a clinical verification. Clinical, regulatory, efficacy, safety and dose claims are not independently established by this review.
Fenugreek
Herbal extract studied for libido and testosterone markers. Results across trials are inconsistent.
Evidence category: Systematic review. This describes the source category, not approval or certainty.
Regulatory statement in source: Not separately recorded; do not infer approval from the evidence category.
Fenugreek is a plant whose extracts are sold for strength and testosterone support. A meta-analysis of seven trials with 449 participants found a small effect on total testosterone in male athletes, with effects on free testosterone, lean mass and leg press that were not clear. A newer systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised placebo-controlled trials in adult men reports that certainty about testosterone effects remains limited. A separate systematic review of six randomised trials found improved strength, muscle endurance and lean body mass in four of them. Effects are small and the trial base is thin.
Benefits reported in the imported source
- A meta-analysis of seven trials found a small effect on total testosterone in male athletes
- Four of six randomised trials reported better strength, muscle endurance and lean body mass
Risks and limits
- Effects on free testosterone, lean mass and leg press were not clear in that meta-analysis
- A newer meta-analysis reports certainty about testosterone effects remains limited
- Effects are small and the trial base is thin
Source bottom line: Fenugreek shows a small testosterone signal and mixed strength results across a thin, low-certainty trial base.
Uncertainty: Reference information only. Not medical advice.
Study protocols — reports, not instructions
Mostly young men aged about 20-28, across six randomised trials
- Reported regimen
- Trials used 300 mg a day of a glycoside fraction, 500 mg of powder or 900 mg of seed extract for 8 weeks, or single doses near 2 mg/kg
- Duration
- Single doses up to 8 weeks
- Reported outcome
- Four trials reported better 1RM bench and leg press, more repetitions to failure and improved lean body mass; glycogen resynthesis results were mixed.
- Source
- Fenugreek and Its Effects on Muscle Performance: A Systematic Review (availability check 2026-10-15: possible access barrier; not independently inspected; HTTP 200)
Claim provenance
evidence.json#/catalog:supplement:fenugreek/protocols/0
Community and practice descriptions
Accounts of a practice are not evidence of safety or effectiveness. Words such as “standard”, “safe” or “recommended” describe the source account, not verified consensus or this wiki’s advice. Commercial and self-published citations are retained for traceability, not vendor endorsement or independent clinical corroboration.
Unverified imported account — Fenugreek - NCCIH
An imported authored paraphrase, not a quotation or a recommended protocol.
Review: unverified historical account. The imported wording is preserved for attribution; its full clinical, dosing, efficacy or consensus claims have not been independently established. Unvalidated source account; no validated human dosing population or animal-to-human equivalence is inferred.
Imported wording: NCCIH describes fenugreek seeds historically used as a culinary spice and in traditional medicine.
Historical research outcome: verified-description · 2026-10-06
The full public NIH page was independently retrieved and inspected. It reports historical culinary and medicinal use of the seeds; promoted indications, safety assertions and clinical results were not imported.
- https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/fenugreek: verified-description — The background section explicitly records seeds used as a spice and traditional medicine. The description does not turn the page's promoted uses into verified benefits.
Pharmacokinetic context
No half-life recorded in this source snapshot. No value has been inferred.
Source references
- The Anabolic Effect of Fenugreek: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis (Isenmann et al. 2023)
- Effects of oral fenugreek-derived preparations on testosterone-related outcomes in adult men: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials (Yang et al. 2026)
- Fenugreek and Its Effects on Muscle Performance: A Systematic Review (availability check 2026-10-15: possible access barrier; not independently inspected; HTTP 200)
- PubMed: fenugreek testosterone (availability check 2026-10-15: possible access barrier; not independently inspected; HTTP 200)
Snapshot provenance
Source ID: catalog:supplement:fenugreek. Commit: adc7684614f9439b41d91a3312b62e7982c7e20e. Review state: historical-not-reverified. Authored links are retained separately from the canonical evidence links in the public data. App templates/defaults and rejected drafts are archived, not deployed.
Related entries and components
None listed.