Trigonella foenum (Huluba)

Distribution:
Anhui, Henan, Sichuan provinces of China.
 
Properties (characteristics):
Bitter, warm
 
Channels (meridians) entered:
Kidney, liver.
 
Medical functions:
Seeds, stems, and leaves are effective in lowering blood sugar, blood lipids. Leaves and stems are also effective for kidney function exhaustion, hepatoprotective effect on ethanol toxicity on the liver, and for high altitude disease. The seeds can improve milk production in goats. This can be mediated through the increase of growth hormone. It can also agonize the  dopamine receptor; thus cutting down the interfering of prolactin production and promote mothers' milk production.
 
Actions & Indications:
Impotence, Sexual Dysfunction, lack of libido, hernia of the groin area, cold and pain in the testes, stomach pain due to deficient, edema in the legs and lack of strength due to deficiency, Nerurasthenia, lack of milk after child birth.
 

Chemical ingredients:
Trigonelline
diosgenin-β-D-glucoside
vitexin
isovitexin, saponaretin
isoorientin
vitexin-7-glucoside
gitogenin
neogitogenin 
diosgenin 
yamogenin 
tigogenin 
neotigogenin 
trigofoenoside A 
trigoneoside VIII 
homoorientin 
vicenin-1 
vicenin-2 
vitexin 
quercetin 
etc......

Dosage:
In decoction: 6 to 10 g. Large dosage can be used in meal cooking: 50 -100 g.

Cautions:
Do not use in cases of  yinxu (yin deficient) with heat or with damp-heat .