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Fenugreek seed vs extract?

#11

Raw fine powder that is in capsules is definitely very much different than extract.

An extract is usually 2x, 5x, 10x or 10%, 50% etc. more pure of some or mainy active compounds . So if you take a 100mg capsule of FG powder capsule.. you might only need to take 10mg of Extract to have the same amount "active" ingredients taken into your system that have beneficial effects. So things like cellulose, water etc. are taken out of the powder through a number of extraction techniques.

Secondly, some active ingredients are very bound to plant structures so you might end up excreting a significant amount of actives. Where as, a pure active you are much more likely to absorb it since it's more freely dissolvable or more soluble. Most extracts are done using Alcohol as a solvent to draw out the active ingredients from the plant sctructures.

So if you take 1000mg of powder.. you might only absorb 10mg of actives.

If you take a 5:1 extract; you only need to take 200mg of extract powder to have the same amount of actives in theory. Then add that the extract powder might be 50% more absorbable so...

1000mg raw = 10mg of absorbed actives
200mg extract = 100mg of absorbed actives
So in this example, the extract is 10x more potent then straight plant milled powder. It still take 1000mg of plant powder starting material, but you consume 5x less material and it is 10x more potent.

I am in no way saying that those are type of numbers for FG.. just an illustration of how an extract is very much different then raw powder.

Now.. the downside of an extracts. If a plant is known to have a certain physiological effect but no one clearly understands why (what active ingredient is leading to an affect)... its impossible to know if the extract(s) that is/are pulled is in fact that one responsible for the effect. So you could end up taking a plant extract and not have the physiologic effect you wanted.

For example, some extracts are water soluble. Some are fat soluble. Some are alcohol soluble. Some are need a specific alcohol to get pulled out of the plant. If you know exact what active ingredient is causing the health claim... very easy to figure it out and get ultra pure material. However, when it's now clear. Using WHOLE plant may be better then EXTRACTS as you stand a better chance of getting active extract for the claim you are after.

That's why many plants in traditional medicine have 5, 10, 15 different uses. Different active compounds in the plant are beneficial for different health concerns.

So lets say a plant name BreastNexus is known to have an effect on lowering blood pressure, also known to have an effect improved immunity and breast enhancement. That could be 3 different active extracts ie Compound A, Compound B, Compound C. But science hasn't caught up yet to what those 3 things exactly are and which one goes with what health benefit.

So lets say Compound A is good for Breast Enhancement, Compound B for Immunity and Compound C is good for Immunity and Blood Pressure.

You would need to know exactly what extract of BreastNexus plant you are buying if you are trying to lower your blood pressure. No point in buying the Compound A extract as it will do nothing for you. However, Compound A would be really good for a women trying to enhance her breasts. What is called in the industry is "standardized" Breastnexus.

On the label.. you would see it listed something like:
Breastnexus 100mg
standardized for Compound A containing 5mg.

For that product, Breastnexus plant extract should be bought only for someone interested in breast enhancement.

Dosing for all 3 ailments .. why it's not clear how much to take

So lets say in Breastnexus plant, it's 50% Compound A, 33% Compound B and 17% Compound C (this may or may not be known but below goes to show why some plant A is recommend at 2 capsules and something at 6 capsules). Traditional Medicine doctors have played with the amounts and seeing what works and doesn`t, document it and learn for it. The numbers below are just to put into numbers what Traditional Medicines are doing and prescribing in the formulas with experience handed down (1,000s of years) and personal trial and error.

So in 100mg of Breastnexus plant there could be. There is

50mg of Compound A
33mg of Compound B
17mg of Compound C

How do you dose the Breastnexus powder of 100mg capsules???

If Breast enhancement is the goal and is based on 100mg actives A: 2 capsule dose
If Immunity is the goal and is based on 200mg actives B: 6capsules dose
If Blood Pressure is the goal and is based on 50mg of actives: 3 capsule dose

How much Breastnexus should be taken ---- All depends on what you are taking Breastnexus plant capsules for. That`s why Traditional Medicine is such an art and not exact science and the health care provider tweeks your natural medicine constantly.

So to answer your question.. is Fenugreek Seed vs. Extract.. good question.. typically.. extract is a better option but if is ineffective.. then consider going seed Big Grin

Example of what I just mentioned above.. Ephedra.

Ephedra plant to get the decongestant effect you brew the plant twigs as a tea in water to get the effect (water extract). If you did it in alcohol extraction, you wouldn`t get much of the active ephedra out of the plant and you`d be getting drunk before getting decongested.

EGCGs out of Green Teas is similar. Water extaction ie Brewed Tea. Depending how pure your water is (TDS), how long you brew the tea, and what temperature you brew it at and how fresh the Grean Tea is and variety and where it was grown.. you get different % of EGCGs out of the tea leaves.

Thats why its important who you buy your extract or raw materials from!!!

There are things called double extracts (both water extraction and alcohol extractions of the same plant are mixed together) to get the maximum number of active compounds out of the plant.
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#12

Thanks
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