Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32565595›Full record

Trial reportIndian journal of pharmacology

Comparison of the efficacy of oral fenugreek seeds hydroalcoholic extract versus placebo in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; a randomized, triple-blind controlled pilot clinical trial.

Amirhossein Babaei, Seyed Alireza Taghavi, Ali Mohammadi, Mohammad Amin Mahdiyar, Pooya Iranpour, Fardad Ejtehadi, Abdolali Mohagheghzadeh

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Indian journal of pharmacology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The Green Path to Liver Health: Herbal Solutions for Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis.Cardiovascular & hematological disorders drug targets · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. The Effect of Fenugreek (Health science reports · 2026
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. The effects of fenugreek (Avicenna journal of phytomedicine
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Amirhossein BabaeiStudent Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Seyed Alireza TaghaviGastroenterohepatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Ali MohammadiStudent Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Mohammad Amin MahdiyarStudent Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Pooya IranpourDepartment of Radiology, Medical Imaging Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Fardad EjtehadiGastroenterohepatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Abdolali MohagheghzadehDepartment of Phytopharmaceuticals (Traditional Pharmacy), School of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran.
Shiraz University of Medical Sciences · IRShiraz University · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe aim of this study is to investigate the therapeutic property of hydroalcoholic extract of Fenugreek seeds in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adult patients.

methodsThis randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel trial was conducted from November 2014 to June 2017. Patients aged between 18 and 70 years old with confirmed NAFLD were recruited from the Motahhari clinic, affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Participants either received 1 g hydroalcoholic extract of Fenugreek seeds or placebo daily for 3 months. The primary outcomes were changes in serum alanine transaminase and FibroScan controlled attenuation parameter score. Secondary outcome measures were changes in other laboratory data, liver stiffness measure, liver steatosis percent, and anthropometric variables. Participants were randomly assigned to the groups using blocked randomization method. Participants, investigators, and statistician were blinded to treatments allocation.

resultsAfter screening eighty patients, thirty patients met the inclusion criteria and were divided into two groups (1:1). After 3 months, two and four patients did not complete the trial in Fenugreek and placebo group, respectively. The changes in the anthropometrics, laboratories and FibroScan measurements were not statistically significant between the two groups.

conclusionThe evidence to prove the efficacy of the Fenugreek seeds' hydroalcoholic extract in NAFLD was not strong enough; hence, further experiments are still needed to assess the possible efficacy of Fenugreek on the treatment of NAFLD.

Indexed as

SeedsTrigonellaAdultAlanine TransaminaseBiomarkersFemaleHumansIranLiverMaleMiddle AgedNon-alcoholic Fatty Liver DiseasePilot ProjectsPlant ExtractsSolventsTime FactorsAlanine TransaminaseBiomarkersPlant ExtractsSolventsIranliver diseasesphytotherapytraditional medicinetrigonella foenum-graecum

Identifiers

PMID32565595
PMCPMC7282687
OpenAlexW3034123947

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.