effect of fenugreek supplementation on blood lipids and body weight: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstractintroduction- ethnopharmacological relevance: fenugreek is a traditional herbal medicine that has been used forcenturies to treat hyperglycemia, muscle spasms, gastritis, constipation, edema, and other metabolic disorders.recently, lipid-lowering effects of fenugreek have been identified. the aim of this systematic review and metaanalysiswas to determine and clarify the impact of fenugreek supplementation on anthropometric indices and serumlipid levels.material and methods (or methodology)- we searched pubmed, scopus, isi web of science, cochrane library,and google scholar from inception to june 2019 using relevant keywords. all randomized controlled trials (rcts)investigating the effects of fenugreek on anthropometric indices and plasma lipids in adults were included. a randomeffectsmodel was used for quantitative data synthesis. a sensitivity analysis was conducted using the leave-one-outmethod.findings- for quantitative data synthesis. a sensitivity analysis was conducted using the leave-one-out method.results: a meta-analysis of 12 rcts (14 arms) with 560 participants suggested a significant decrease in plasmaconcentrations of total cholesterol (wmd = −9.371 mg/dl; 95% ci: −15.419, −3.323, p = 0.002), triglycerides(wmd = −13.776 mg/dl; 95% ci: −26.636, −0.916, p = 0.036), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol(wmd =−6.590 mg/dl; 95% ci: −13.042, −0.137, p = 0.045), as well as an increase in plasma high density lipoproteincholesterol (wmd = 3.501 mg/dl; 95% ci: 1.309, 5.692, p = 0.002), while body weight (wmd = 0.223 kg; 95% ci:−0.509, 0.955, p = 0.551) and body mass index (wmd = 0.091 kg/m2; 95% ci: −0.244, 0.426, p = 0.596) were notaltered.conclusion- fenugreek supplementation improved lipid parameters in adults. however, to confirm these results,more studies, particularly among hyperlipidemic patients, are needed.