Just an observation, which does not answer the query really. In the sub-continent, unlike garlic or onion smell, which everyone notices too, no one seems to have noticed any smell from fenugreek eating. In the West, fenugreek eaters talk of a "Maple syrup" smell. In fact, it's even been recommended as a deodorant, for that reason, as it suppresses unpleasant body odour.Could this be due to a difference in body metabolism or is it because sub-continental noses have never smelled maple syrup?

I wonder if the original observation was actually of CUMIN induced odour, not Methi. This is very noticeable (to westerners at least) in many asian and north african men, and I've noticed it on myself if I've eaten it in consecutive meals. It always seems to be men, which may be significant biologically.

My Wife used Fenugreek for milk production and it did create a great smelling maple syrup smell. It was quite effective for everything actually.

One of the many compounds that gives methi its flavour is 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethylfuran-2(5H)-one, better known as sotolon. Sotolon is produced in both methi and cumin (as others have pointed out) and in many syrups or cooked sugar products. It is a part of the flavour profile of maple syrup and cheap sotolon extracted from methi and cumin can be added to sugar syrups to make "fake" maple syrup.The reason for the persistent smell? Well, it's very simple. The human body doesn't metabolise sotolon at all, so it passes through the body unchanged - this making sweat, urine and the breath smell like cumin/methi/maple syrup (the one which you're most used to is the one you would, of course, compare it to).Interestingly, sufferers of the disease branched-chain ketoaciduria often have urine/breath/sweat described as smelling of "maple syrup" (in the West) or "methi/cumin" (in the East). As of course these substances all owe their smell of sotolon, it's not surprising to know that in this disease, sotolin is produced from various amino acids that sufferers can't properly metabolise.So, in a nutshell, sotolon passing through the body without being broken down is that makes you smell of methi. As to why you perceive it very strongly? Probably something to do with the odour threshold of the chemical - that is to say, how much of it you need before you can smell it. I can't find any data to refer to but I'd wager that you don't need much sotolon in a room to be able to smell it! Rich BodenDepartment of Biological SciencesUniversity of Warwick (UK)r.j.g.boden@warwick.ac.uk

I eat a half teaspoon of fenugreek seeds for "odor control" regularly, and have for decades. I can go from skunky to honey overnight. I discovered this effect after eating Indian curries, and isolated the spices till I found which one was responsible. I am female, of mostly eastern European descent. Cumin does not have the same effect.