The consumption of fat from animal sources that is high in
cholesterol has been implicated among the factors that lead
to high blood cholesterol concentrations in humans leading
to increased incidence of coronary heart disease. Although
milk has exceptional nutritional value, research is being
conducted to further enhance the nutritional value of milk to
consumers by feeding management to raise the content of
health promoting fatty acids such as conjugated linoliec acid
(CLA) and omega-3 fatty acids. In spite of these nutritional
enhancements there is resistance to consumption of dairy
products such as butter, cheese, etc., because milk lipid is
high in cholesterol (2.73 mg g–1 lipid) and saturated fatty
acids. Since blood cholesterol is expected to be the major
source of milk cholesterol, any dietary intervention to
decrease blood cholesterol concentrations in cows may
decrease milk cholesterol concentrations, thereby increasing
health benefits for the consumer. Consumption of
sapogenins, which occur in leguminous plants, such as fenugreek
(Mir et al. 1997), has been shown to decrease circulating
cholesterol concentrations in many species, including
rats (Petit et al. 1993) and humans (Al-Habori and Raman
1998; Sharma et al. 1990), but has not been evaluated in
dairy cows. Rao and Sharma (1987) reported fenugreek
seeds as a good source of saponins (4.8% DM) and protein