Current perspectives on fenugreek bioactive compounds and their potential impact on human health: A review of recent insights into functional foods and other high value applications.

Despite long-standing uses in several food and medicine traditions, the full potential of the leguminous crop fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) remains to be realized in the modern diet. Not only its seeds, which are highly prized for their culinary and medicinal properties, but also its leaves and stems abound in phytochemicals with high nutritional and health promoting attributes. Fenugreek dual food-medicine applications and reported metabolic activities include hypoglycemic, antihyperlipidemic, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antiatherogenic, antihypertensive, anticarcinogenic, immunomodulatory, and antinociceptive effects, with potential organ-protective effects at the cardiovascular, digestive, hepatic, endocrine, and central nervous system levels. Effectiveness in alleviating certain inflammatory skin conditions and dysfunctions of the reproductive system was also suggested. As a food ingredient, fenugreek can enhance the sensory, nutritional, and nutraceutical qualities of a wide variety of foods. Its high nutritive density can assist with the design of dietary items that meet the demand for novelty, variety, and healthier foods. Its seeds provide essential protective nutrients and other bioactive compounds, notably galactomannans, flavonoids, coumarins, saponins, alkaloids, and essential oils, whose health benefits, alone or in conjunction with other bioactives, are only beginning to be tapped into in the food industries. This review summarizes the current state of evidence on fenugreek potential for functional food development, focusing on the nutrients and non-nutrient bioactive components of interest from a dietary perspective, and their applications for enhancing the functional and nutraceutical value of foods and beverages. New developments, safety, clinical evidence, presumed mechanisms of action, and future perspectives are discussed. HIGHLIGHTS: Fenugreek seeds and leaves have long-standing uses in the food-medicine continuum. Fenugreek phytochemicals exert broad-spectrum biological and pharmacological activities. They show high preventive and nutraceutical potential against common chronic diseases. Current evidence supports multiple mechanisms of action mediated by distinct bioactives. Opportunities for fenugreek-based functional foods and nutraceuticals are expanding.

Transforming child and youth mental health care: ACCESS Open Minds New Brunswick in the rural Francophone region of the Acadian Peninsula.

AIM: This paper describes how the transformation of youth mental health services in the rural Francophone region of the Acadian Peninsula in New Brunswick, Canada, is meeting the five objectives of ACCESS Open Minds. METHODS: Implementation of the ACCESS Open Minds framework of care in the Acadian Peninsula of New Brunswick began in 2016 at a well-established volunteer centre and community-based mental health organization. Through focus groups with youth aged 14 to 22 (n = 13), community mapping was used to describe the youth-related mental health service transformation, followed by thematic analysis, validation by member checking and triangulation. RESULTS: Preliminary results show a generally successful implementation of the ACCESS Open Minds model, as evidenced by the transformation of mental health service provision, the enhancement of capacity in human resources and the participation of youth. Transformation was evidenced across the five objectives of mental healthcare of ACCESS Open Minds, albeit to variable extents. Several facilitating factors and challenges are identified based on youths' accounts. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to successfully implement the ACCESS Open Minds model among francophones living in a minority setting and despite the constraints of a rural area. Most key components of the framework were implemented with high program fidelity. The rural context presents unique challenges that require creative and effective use of resources, while offering opportunities that arise from a culture of resourcefulness and collaboration.