Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis and in vitro antibacterial activity of essential oil from Trigonella foenum-graecum

ABSTRACT

Objective: To evaluate the antibacterial activity of essential oil from Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds powder, and identify the compounds from the extracted oil. Methods: The seeds powder of Trigonella foenum-graecum was subjected to Clevenger extractor. Seven strains of bacteria were used to test antibacterial activity of the extract. The activity against bacteria was tested by disk diffusion method using Whatman No. 1 filter paper. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis was performed with an Agilent7890/5975B-gas chromatography/mass selective detector. Results: The hydrodistillation of seeds powder yielded 0.285%(v/w) of oil. Disk diffu-sion of the oil showed bactericidal activity against both Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria of tasted strains. The inhibition zone ranged from (8 ± 0) mm to (15.0 ± 0.7) mm depending on microbial strains. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis showed 14 different compounds. The total compounds represented 80.96%of the oil. Conclusions: The antibacterial activity is due to the effects of different biological active compounds present in the extract. Identification of the compounds may help to develop new effective antimicrobial agent(s). Further researches on purification, characterization and toxicology of the active compounds are needed.