Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum- graecum) is both herb (leaves) and a spice (seed) belonging to the family Fabaceae. Fenugreek leaves and seeds are used in the cuisine of India. Fenugreek also has medicinal value. Fenugreek seeds are known to reduce serum glucose and improve glucose tolerance and hence are prescribed to diabetic patients. In the recent past supplemental Chromium is being prescribed to diabetic patients to activate (increased- insulin binding, insulin receptor number, insulin receptor phosphorylation) insulin. Plants can uptake substantial quantities of toxic metals from contaminated soils if these soils are well ameliorated. &#xd;&#xa;&#xd;&#xa;It is then probable that the medicinal efficacy of Fenugreek in the case of diabetes could be enhanced if it takes up chromium from the soil. Preliminary studies are being conducted to note the chromium uptake by Fenugreek from soils which are applied with potassium dichromate

Murthy  Ch V R

Rajan  S C S

Sekhar D M R

Xanthate D S

English

Nature Precedings

Chromium uptake by Fenugreek 
Modified Medicinal Plants: DS Xanthate, ChVR Murthy, SCS Rajan and DMR Sekhar. 
 
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum- graecum) is both [1] herb (leaves) and a spice (seed) 
belonging to the family Fabaceae. Fenugreek leaves and seeds are used in the cuisine of 
India. Fenugreek also has [1] medicinal value. Fenugreek seeds are known [2] to reduce 
serum glucose and improve glucose tolerance and hence are prescribed to diabetic 
patients. In the recent past supplemental Chromium is being prescribed to diabetic 
patients [3] to activate (increased- insulin binding, insulin receptor number, insulin 
receptor phosphorylation) insulin. Plants can uptake substantial quantities of toxic 
metals from contaminated soils [4] if these soils are well ameliorated.  
 
It is then probable that the medicinal efficacy of Fenugreek in the case of diabetes could 
enhance if it uptakes chromium from the soil. Preliminary studies are being conducted 
to note the chromium uptake by Fenugreek from soils which are applied with potassium 
dichromate. 
Contents 
 Introduction 
 Soil Amelioration 
 Dichromate application 
 Heavy metal uptake by plants 
 Results and discussion 
 Conclusion 
 Acknowledgement 
 References 
 
Introduction 
Medicinal value of fenugreek seeds and chromium in treatment of diabetes is known
[1-3]
 
though they play different roles. Plant tolerance to toxic metals improves
[4]
 if soils are 
ameliorated with farm yard manure. The present preliminary study is for the proof of concept 
of accumulation of Cr in fenugreek seeds and leaves. The experimental conditions in no way 
are optimized. 
Soil Amelioration 
The lab scale field trials are conducted at Eshidiya phosphate mine. The soil is highly saline
[5]
 
showing electrical conductivity around 15320 µs/ cm with a Ph around 7.22. The soil was 
treated with PROM prepared with rock phosphate containing 24.48% P2O5, in 80% passing 
through 79 microns size that is PR (25/79). The ratio by weight of FYM to rock phosphate in 
the PROM was 4:1. Three plots of size 1 meterX0.5 meters were made. Each plot was treated 
with 1.66 Kg of PROM which works out to 1632 Kg of P2O5 per Hectare. The P2O5 dose is 
advertantly kept high in view of high salinity of the soil and the impending toxicity of 
Chromium. It is important to note that P uptake by plants when rock phosphate is used in 
PROM is as required by the plants and hence the amazing residual effect of PROM. 
Dichromate application 
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Thirty seeds of fenugreek per plot were sowed in all the three plots. While first plot was not 
given potassium dichromate [treatment one the control] the second [treatment two] and third 
[treatment three] plots were given two grams and four grams of potassium dichromate 
respectively as 1% solution in two doses with ten days gap at the time of flowering when the 
plants reached around ten centimeters height. The dichromate doses to the second and third 
plots work out to four grams per meter square or forty Kg per Hectare and eight grams per 
meter square or eighty Kg per Hectare respectively. Plants in the third plot with higher dose 
of potassium dichromate at eighty Kg per Hectare appeared slow in growth after dichromate 
application where as the application of dichromate at forty Kg per Hectare was normal as in 
control and no adverse effect was shown by the plants. 
Heavy metal uptake by plants 
Most of the heavy metals are toxic
[6]
 to bio systems. Yet bio systems absorb and 
accumulate
[6]
 heavy metals irrespective of their essentiality. Cr
+3
 is reported
[7]
 to be more 
toxic than Ag
+2
 and UO2
+2
 to Triticum aestivum. L, during seedling growth and Cr
+6
 is high 
in toxicity
[8]
 compared to Cr
+3
 to Triticum aestivum. L, during seedling growth. It is said that 
Cr
+6
 is reduced to Cr
+3
 in biological materials and hence organic materials almost exclusively 
contain Cr
+3
. We find
[9-13]
 a number of research reports that studied Cr absorption and 
accumulation by bio systems. 
Results and discussion 
Table - 1 
S.No Treatment % Cr in leaves % Cr in seeds 
1. Control, No applied Cr 0.000445 0.000085 
2. Potassium Di Chromate @ 40 kg/ha 0.00184 0.00034 
3. Potassium Di Chromate @ 80 kg/ha 0.01105 0.00043 
Table 1 shows Cr concentration in the leaves and seeds of Fenugreek treated with 40 and 80 
Kgs of potassium dichromate per hectare. If we take
[3]
 the requirement of Cr at 200 µg per 
day for those who are mildly glucose intolerant then 100 grams of chromated Fenugreek 
leaves may full fill the requirement. The Cr concentration achieved in this study is 24.83 
times higher than the control in case of the leaves and 5.1 times higher in case of the seeds. 
Cr content in the leaves and seeds of chromate fenugreek products may be adjusted by 
mixing the powders of the leaves and seeds. 
Cr content is analyzed at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Andhra University, Vizag 
with AAS of Perkin El mer (Model: AA200) using air-acetylene flame. 
Conclusion 
The present study though is of limited scope, proves the concept of concentration of Cr from 
soils into the leaves and seeds of Fenugreek. This warrants further detailed study. 
Acknowledgement 
The authors are thankful to Mr. T Kodala Rao for his assistance in conducting the field 
experiments. The authors are grateful to Er. John Britto for patiently editing and styling the 
manuscript. Authors are thankful to Prof. N C Aery for providing reprints of his published 
work related to heavy metal uptake by plants. 
References 
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenugreek 
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2. Sharma, RD, Raghuram, TC and Rao, NS, Effect of fenugreek seeds on blood glucose 
and serum lipids in type I diabetes, Eur J Clin Nutr. 44(4):301-6. , April 1990. 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2194788 
3. Richard A. Anderson, Chromium, Glucose Intolerence and Diabetes, Journal of the 
American College of Nutrition, Vol. 17, No.6, 548-555, 1998, http://www.bio-
genesis.com/productpages/diabetone-
bar/chromium%20and%20glucose%20intolerance.pdf 
4. Sekhar, DMR and Jakhu, MR, Primary Vegetative Growth on an Old Tailings Dam-
Zawar Mines, Minerals and Environment, Vol.5, 1983. 
5. Sekhar, DMR, Dassin, Y, Lutfi Momani and Abu-Hamatteh, Phosphate rich organic 
manure as fertilizer, Nature Preceding: doi:10.1038/npre.2008.2411.1: Posted 18 Oct 
2008, http://precedings.nature.com/documents/2411/version/1/files/npre20082411-
1.pdf 
6. Aery, NC, Accumulation, toxicity and detoxification of heavy metals in plants, 
“Heavy Matal Pollution, Toxication and Chelation”, Eds: PP Sood and Ram Prakash, 
MD Publications, New Delhi. 
7. Jain, GS and Aery, NC, Relative toxicity of Uranium, Silver and Chromium on the 
early seedling growth of Triticum aestvum L, Environment and Development, Eds: IS 
Grover and AK Thukral, Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur. 
8. Nibha Mukhopadhyay and Aery NC, Effect of Cr (III) and Cr (VI) on the growth and 
physiology of Triticum aestvum plants during early seedling growth. Biologia 
Bratislava, 55/4: 403-408, 2000. 
9. Zetic, VG etal, Chromium uptake by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and isolation of 
glucose tolerance factor from yeast biomass, J. Biosci. Vol.26, No2, June, 2001. 
10. Ver. KC, etal, Hexavalent Chromium uptake by sensitive and tolerant mutants of 
Schizosaccharomyces pombe, FEMS Microbiology Letters 178, 1999. 
11. Arteaga, etal, Spectroscopic confirmation of chromium uptake by Creosote Bush 
[Larrea tridentate] using hydroponics, Proceedings of the 2000 Conference on 
Hazardous Waste Rearch. 
12. Bhattacharya,P. etal, Chromium uptake by rice and accumulation in soil amended 
with municipal solid waste compost, Chemosphere 60, 2005. 
13. Rashmi, BN, etal, Geobotanical and biogeochemical study of chromite bearing areas 
of Nuggihalli schist belt, Karnataka, Current Science, Vol.99, No.5, 10 September 
2010. 
 
 
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Chromium uptake by rice and accumulation in soil amended with municipal solid waste compost,

Effect of Cr (III) and Cr (VI) on the growth and physiology of Triticum aestvum plants during early seedling growth.

Effect of fenugreek seeds on blood glucose and serum lipids in type I diabetes,

Geobotanical and biogeochemical study of chromite bearing areas of Nuggihalli schist belt,

Hexavalent Chromium uptake by sensitive and tolerant mutants of Schizosaccharomyces pombe,

Phosphate rich organic manure as fertilizer, Nature Preceding: doi:10.1038/npre.2008.2411.1:

Spectroscopic confirmation of chromium uptake by Creosote Bush [Larrea tridentate] using hydroponics,

VG etal, Chromium uptake by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and isolation of glucose tolerance factor from yeast biomass,

Chromium uptake by Fenugreek

http://precedings.nature.com/documents/6762/version/1

Chromium uptake by Fenugreek

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