The short answer
Fenugreek has not been shown to increase hypoglycemia specifically with glyburide. A small study compared the treatments rather than combining them, and its low-glucose event occurred with fenugreek plus metformin.
What this answer covers
Defined fenugreek capsules versus seed foods, teas and other extracts; glyburide is also called glibenclamide.
- Supplement or preparation
- Trigonella foenum-graecum
- Medication ingredient
- glyburide
The study compared two treatments
The pilot trial assigned fenugreek plus metformin or glibenclamide plus metformin. It did not test fenugreek added to glyburide. Glyburide and glibenclamide are names for the same drug.
The reported low cannot be assigned to this pair
One hypoglycemia event was reported in the fenugreek group. The small trial did not clearly establish a fasting-glucose benefit and cannot estimate risk from fenugreek combined with glyburide.
Glyburide already has a hypoglycemia risk
Glyburide stimulates insulin release and can cause serious low glucose. Poor intake, alcohol, kidney or liver impairment, and other glucose-lowering treatment can increase susceptibility. These risks do not provide a supplement-specific event rate.
Review changes without adjusting the prescription yourself
Tell the diabetes team when starting or stopping the supplement and follow the prescribed glucose-monitoring and low-glucose treatment plan. Do not change the glyburide dose or assume a short spacing gap prevents a glucose effect.
Evidence and practical considerations
Side effects & toxicity
Comparator glibenclamide exposure is not co-use with fenugreek; event with metformin is indirect and cannot establish exact-pair risk.
- Exact scope
- Defined fenugreek capsules versus seed foods, teas and other extracts; glyburide is also called glibenclamide. with Oral glyburide RxCUI 4815 IN, synonym glibenclamide; distinct formulation dosing retained.
- Medication form and route
- oral medication; oral supplement
What remains uncertain
- No unmeasured pair-event rate or arbitrary timing interval.
Factors that may matter: Preparation; Dose; Kidney/liver function; Food intake; Other glucose-lowering treatment.
Read the supporting source summaries
Source 1: current product label
dailymed.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: Patients prescribed oral glyburide
Glyburide stimulates insulin release and can cause severe hypoglycemia. Renal/hepatic impairment, deficient intake, alcohol and multiple glucose-lowering medicines increase susceptibility. Meal and individualized dose instructions apply.
How this applies: Exact oral glyburide active ingredient and named formulation.
Not glipizide, glimepiride or gliclazide. Formulations have different strengths and prescribing instructions; no supplement-specific adverse-event rate.
Source 2: current product label
dailymed.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: Patients prescribed oral glyburide
Glyburide stimulates insulin release and can cause severe hypoglycemia. Renal/hepatic impairment, deficient intake, alcohol and multiple glucose-lowering medicines increase susceptibility. Meal and individualized dose instructions apply.
How this applies: Exact oral glyburide active ingredient and named formulation.
Not glipizide, glimepiride or gliclazide. Formulations have different strengths and prescribing instructions; no supplement-specific adverse-event rate.
Source 3: original human study
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: Small uncontrolled-diabetes cohort.
Fasting-glucose reduction with fenugreek not significant; one hypoglycemia event reported in fenugreek/metformin arm.
How this applies: Indirect for exact glyburide; original drug, preparation and endpoint retained.
Fenugreek plus metformin compared with glibenclamide plus metformin; not fenugreek plus glyburide. Small study with inconsistent completion wording.
Research assessment: · Open full citations ↗
Review and change history
- Publication status
- Published research summary
- Clinical review
- Not yet recorded
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| Article prepared | |
| Prepared exact glyburide article distinguishing direct drug warnings, comparator studies and indirect supplement evidence. | |
| Research summary published |
Article revision: 5eb3e6f29c52d48f
This guide brings together the evidence records used by our interaction checker. Each finding retains its own preparation limits, research date, and source summaries.
Full citations require verification. Reading this answer and the source summaries does not.
Taking other supplements or medications?
Use the checker to explore your other combinations. Ask a pharmacist to review the exact products, amounts and medical conditions in your complete list.
Open the interaction checkerInformation, not medical advice. Do not change prescribed treatment based on this guide.