Benefits
Fewer hot flashes and night sweats
In the one 12-week trial, total Menopause Rating Scale scores fell by 8.3 points on 300 mg and 10.4 points on 500 mg, against 4.1 points on placebo; 500 mg beat 300 mg on this main outcome. Women started with about 4 hot flashes a day: these fell by 2.3 (300 mg) and 2.7 (500 mg) a day versus 1.4 on placebo, and night sweats by 1.4 and 1.6 versus 0.8. On hot flashes and night sweats the two doses did not differ. Because placebo alone improved scores by about 4 points, the extract's added effect was roughly 4 to 6 points. The trial was funded by the manufacturer and has not been repeated.
Estradiol rose and FSH fell: a lab finding and a reason for caution
After 12 weeks, average blood estradiol rose by about 17 pg/mL on 300 mg and 22 pg/mL on 500 mg, while it fell by about 1 pg/mL on placebo; FSH fell by 17 and 28 mIU/mL. In the 500 mg group, average estradiol went from about 10 to about 32 pg/mL. This is a laboratory marker, not a symptom outcome. The three groups already differed significantly in estradiol and FSH at the start, in dose order: the 500 mg group began with the lowest estradiol and the highest FSH, so part of its rise may be unusually low starting values drifting back toward average rather than an effect of the extract. The paper calls the product nonhormonal, but a rise in circulating estradiol is an estrogen effect whatever its source: if you have had breast, endometrial or ovarian cancer, have endometriosis or fibroids, or take hormone therapy, tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor, talk to your doctor before using it.
Better sleep, mood and anxiety scores (secondary outcomes)
These were secondary outcomes of the same trial. By week 12, sleep quality scores (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) improved by 3.3 points on 300 mg and 4.1 points on 500 mg, both more than placebo; total mood disturbance (Profile of Mood States) fell by 17.7 and 22.9 points versus 9.6 on placebo; and anxiety scores (Beck Anxiety Inventory) fell by 7.2 and 8.5 points versus 4.2 on placebo. Women with diagnosed anxiety or depression, or with sleep problems treated by sleep medication, were excluded, so these results describe everyday midlife complaints, not treatment of those conditions.
Mechanism of action
Proposed estrogen-like plant compounds
Fenugreek saponins such as protodioscin and shatavari steroidal saponins (shatavarins) are proposed to act on estrogen pathways. The support for this comes from computer-modelling work and rat studies, including one in ovariectomized rats given Fenavari, not from direct measurements of these compounds in women.
Estradiol and FSH changes seen in the trial
In the clinical study estradiol rose and FSH fell compared with placebo, which fits an effect on the brain-ovary hormone feedback loop. The groups differed in both hormones at the start, so the true size of the shift is uncertain, and it is the reason for the hormone-sensitive caution on this page.
Shatavari, a traditional women's tonic
Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus) has long been used in Ayurveda as a female reproductive tonic; its saponins are the rationale for pairing it with fenugreek for broader midlife support, though human data on shatavari alone are limited.
Clinical trials
Multicentre, randomised, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled dose-ranging trial in India (registered CTRI/2024/09/074433) of Fenavari at 300 mg and 500 mg once daily for 84 days, funded by OmniActive, which also made the capsules; one author is an OmniActive employee and the trial was run by a contract research organisation (Kashinath RN, Bhat VV, Morde A, Joshua L, Thomas JV 2026, Women's Health Reports 7, PMID 42539366).
150 Indian women aged 40 to 60 with mild to moderate menopause symptoms (Menopause Rating Scale 12 to 32) and daily hot flashes or night sweats, about half perimenopausal and half postmenopausal (138 completed and were analysed); women with cancer or past menopause hormone therapy were excluded.
Both doses reduced the total Menopause Rating Scale score more than placebo (-8.26 at 300 mg and -10.40 at 500 mg versus -4.09; both p<0.0001), and 500 mg beat 300 mg. Hot flashes, night sweats, sleep, mood and anxiety (secondary outcomes) also improved more than placebo, with no dose difference on hot flashes or night sweats. Estradiol rose (+17 and +22 pg/mL versus -1 on placebo) and FSH fell, but the groups differed in both hormones at baseline. Side effects were no more common than on placebo. One manufacturer-funded trial, not yet replicated.