Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Supplementing with 600 mg of Fenugreek daily for 8 weeks significantly improved sexual desire in 40 of the 80 participating women by increasing estradiol by 66 % and free testosterone by 18.3% compared to the placebo group group.
When it comes to low sexual desire and low sexual dysfunction, most attention is paid to men, with the market for erectile dysfunction medications expected to be reach $3.4 billion by 2019 1. But what is less well-known is that nearly 2 in 5 premenopausal women (39%) report low sexual desire 2. Characterized by decreased libido, a diminished sense of well-being, altered mood, reduced motivation and persistent unexplained fatigue 3, low sexual desire creates “significant emotional and psychological distress” as well as lower sexual and relationship satisfaction 4.
Current medical treatment involves increasing hormone levels, including two sex hormones: estradiol (E2) and testosterone 5 as they play “an important role in stimulating sexual desire and arousal” 6. But because treatment has been shown to increase blood clot risk (“thrombosis”) and may have long-term safety issues 7, an alternative way to help sexual function in women is needed.
Fortunately, research suggests that fenugreek extract, an herbal extract known to increase sexual desire in men 8 may also benefit women. A 2015 randomized, double-blind study 9 involved 80 healthy menstruating women aged 20 to 49. They received either 600 milligrams per day (300 mg taken twice daily) of fenugreek (40 women) or placebo (40 women) over the course of two menstrual cycles (~8 weeks). Before and after the supplementation period, each subject completed a 5-part sexual function questionnaire (DISF-SR 10).
After 8 weeks, the researchers noted the following differences between the groups:
| Fenugreek | Placebo | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sexual cognition | 25% increase (13.15 to 16.45) | 0.5% increase (14.5 to 14.58) | 0.013 |
| Sexual arousal | 31.9% increase (11.58 to 15.28)` | 4.1% decrease (12.66 to 12.15) | 0.0001 |
| Sexual behavior | 29.6% increase (10.88 to 14.11) | 6.1% increase (11.85 to 12.58) | 0.006 |
| Orgasm | 24.9% increase (10.63 to 13.28) | 1.2% increase (12.63 to 12.78) | 0.001 |
| Sexual drive | 19.6% increase (11.58 to 13.86) | 7.2% increase (11.8 to 12.65) | 0.048 |
| Total | 26.2% increase (57.8 to 72.98) | 2.3% increase (63.56 to 65.06) | 0.001 |
In addition, those in the fenugreek group experienced a 66% increase in estradiol E2 (242.71 to 403 picomoles/Liter) compared to a 0.9% increase in the placebo group (284.19 to 286.88, p < 0.013). There was also a 23.8% increase in free testosterone levels (1.13 to 1.40) in the fenugreek group compared to a 5.5% decrease in the placebo group (1.82 to 1.72, p = 0.043). No adverse events were reported in either group.
For the researchers, “This study has provided further evidence that T. foenum-graecum seed extract is a well-tolerated and effective botanical medicine for use in the support of sexual function of pre-menopausal women, in particular increasing sexual desire and arousal, with positive effects on concentrations of E2 and free testosterone.”
Source: Rao. Influence of a Specialized Trigonella foenum-graecum Seed Extract (Libifem), on Testosterone, Estradiol and Sexual Function in Healthy Menstruating Women, a Randomised Placebo Controlled Study. Phytother Res. 2015 Aug;29(8):1123-30. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5355. Epub 2015 Apr 24
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Posted October 18, 2016.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.
References:
- Newswire P. Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market is Expected to Reach USD 3.4 Billion Globally in 2019: Transparency Market Research. 2013. Accessed 10/10/16, 2016.
- West SL, D’Aloisio AA, Agans RP, Kalsbeek WD, Borisov NN, Thorp JM. Prevalence of low sexual desire and hypoactive sexual desire disorder in a nationally representative sample of US women. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(13):1441-1449.
- Yasui T, Matsui S, Tani A, Kunimi K, Yamamoto S, Irahara M. Androgen in postmenopausal women. The journal of medical investigation : JMI. 2012;59(1-2):12-27.
- Leiblum SR, Koochaki PE, Rodenberg CA, Barton IP, Rosen RC. Hypoactive sexual desire disorder in postmenopausal women: US results from the Women’s International Study of Health and Sexuality (WISHeS). Menopause. 2006;13(1):46-56.
- Basson R. Clinical practice. Sexual desire and arousal disorders in women. The New England journal of medicine. 2006;354(14):1497-1506.
- Simon JA. Identifying and treating sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women: the role of estrogen. Journal of women’s health (2002). 2011;20(10):1453-1465.
- Glueck CJ, Bowe D, Valdez A, Wang P. Thrombosis in three postmenopausal women receiving testosterone therapy for low libido. Women’s health (London, England). 2013;9(4):405-410.
- Steels E, Rao A, Vitetta L. Physiological aspects of male libido enhanced by standardized Trigonella foenum-graecum extract and mineral formulation. Phytother Res. 2011;25(9):1294-1300.
- Rao A, Steels E, Beccaria G, Inder WJ, Vitetta L. Influence of a Specialized Trigonella foenum‐graecum Seed Extract (Libifem), on Testosterone, Estradiol and Sexual Function in Healthy Menstruating Women, a Randomised Placebo Controlled Study. Phytotherapy Research. 2015;29(8):1123-1130.
- Basson R, Berman J, Burnett A, et al. Report of the international consensus development conference on female sexual dysfunction: definitions and classifications. J Urol. 2000;163(3):888-893.
