Abstract
Trigonella foenum graecum L. is a popular spice and medicinal plant in India, widely distributed in Asia. The aim of this study was to investigate the phenolic compounds in the seeds and sprouts of T. graecum and their antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial activity. The pure compounds were obtained by eluting the crude extract using varying concentrations of solvents, followed by the chromatographic purification, and based on the spectral data; the compounds were identified as chlorogenic acid, iso-vitexin and vitexin. HPLC analysis confirmed that the phenolic compounds were present in significantly higher levels in the sprouts (5.02 mg/g DW) than in those in the seeds (2.02 mg/g DW). Among the phenolic compounds, chlorogenic acid documented higher amounts. The extracts showed very good scavenging effects on 2,2-diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (45.6 mu g/ml), nitric oxide (41.23 mu g/ml), and beta-carotene (22.75 mu g/ml) respectively. Results revealed that the extracts revealed good anticancer activity towards MCF-7 and vero cells, and the extracts exhibited antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The results concluded that the variation of the phenolic compounds in the seeds and sprouts of T. graecum can be evaluated further in industrial applications, and also an agent to prepare medicinal compounds.