In vitro Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Crude Extracts of Trigonella foenum-graecum Seeds

Abstract

Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek) is an annual herb that belongs to the family Leguminosae. Seeds of Trigonella are used as antidiabetic, inhibit cholesterol absorption (hyper cholesterolemia), antiatherosclerotic, mild antiseptic and acts as an emollient. In the present study, Trigonella seeds were investigated for the presence of total antioxidant activity, catalase, peroxidase, ascorbate oxidase, total phenolic compounds and antimicrobial activity. It was observed that crude extract of Trigonella seeds germinated in curd showed the highest activities of total antioxidants, catalase, peroxidase, ascorbate oxidase and total phenolics when compared with other samples tested. Antimicrobial activity is done on different bacteria and fungi using agar well diffusion method with ampicillin and fucanazole as the positive antimicrobial standards to determine the sensitivity of the microbial strains. It was found that ethyl acetate extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds showed zone of inhibition ranging from 11-25 mm with bacteria and 35-40 mm with fungi and crude extract of Trigonella seed germinated in curd showed zone of inhibition ranging from 11-15 mm with bacteria and 38-42 mm with fungi.