Keywords: Fenugreek; ripe seed; saturated fatty acid; unsaturated fatty acid; Trigonella foenum-graecum Linn

Abstract

Fenugreek is an annual herb. It is often cultivated as a cold weather crop. It’s a medicinal crop. The yield of the seed oil was found to be 6.45% on extraction with pet-ether (400C – 600C). The fatty acid composition of the ripe seed oil of Trigonella foenum-graecum Linn was determined by gas-liquid chromatography. The ripe seed was successively extracted by light petroleum ether which was analyzed for fatty acid composition. The major saturated and unsaturated fatty acids methyl ester of seed extract was found to be C16:0, palmitic acid (5.6%) and 18:3, linolenic acid (49.5%), respectively. The lower amount of caprilic acid (1.5%), lauric acid (2.1%), palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, and behenic acid was found in the fenugreek ripe seed.