Gencor self-affirms GRAS status for fenugreek extract

Botanical ingredient supplier Gencor has announced that its standardized Fenugreek extract has been affirmed generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by an independent panel of toxicologists.

The company sells the extract of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum‐graecum) under the brand names Testofen and Libifem. Libifem (positioned for women) has been on the market for several years, while Testofen (positioned for men) has been on the market for over 10 years.

The self-affirmation supports a daily dose of 622.5 mg for a range of food and beverage applications, including: cereal bars; non-alcoholic beverages; fats and oils; dairy products / analogues; and processed fruit, vegetables and juices. (As a dietary supplement, intended intake is 600 mg per day.)

The ingredients are supported by clinical trials:
For example, findings of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, published in The Aging Male (2016, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp 134-142) reported that Testofen may reduce symptoms of age-related androgen decrease and boost testosterone levels in middle aged and older men.

Data from a double-blind randomized placebo controlled study with 80 women aged between 20 and 49 found that Libifem was associated with significant increases in measures of sexual cognition, arousal, sexual behavior, sexual drive, and orgasm (Phytotherapy Research, 2015, Vol. 29, No. 8, pp. 1123–1130).