Advances in the quality control of fenugreek seeds using chromatographic, spectroscopic and DNA-based techniques: A comprehensive review.

INTRODUCTION

Fenugreek has been used in traditional remedies since ancient times. It has a long history of use against medical ailments as an antidiabetic, anticarcinogenic, hypocholesterolemic, antioxidant, antibacterial, hypoglycemic, gastric stimulant, and anti-anorexia agent. The major active constituents include alkaloids, fibres, saponins, proteins, and amino acids.

OBJECTIVES

To provide a comprehensive overview of the application of chromatographic and spectroscopic methods, in addition to DNA-profiling methods to assess the quality of fenugreek. Also, to highlight the recent application of chemometrics combined with quality control methods during the last two decades.

METHODOLOGY: A literature search conducted from January 2000 up to December 2020 using various scientific databases (e.g., Scopus, Medline, PubMed, EBSCO, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Web of Science and Egyptian Knowledge Bank, Academic Journals, and Springer Link); general web searches were also undertaken using Google applying some related search terms. Studies involving the application of quality control analyses were classified into three categories according to the conducted analysis method including chromatographic [high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), and gas chromatography (GC)], spectroscopic [ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)], and DNA-based markers.

RESULTS

This review shed the light on relevant studies covering the past two decades, presenting the application of spectroscopic and chromatographic methods and DNA profiling in the quality control of fenugreek.

CONCLUSION

The reviewed chromatographic and spectroscopic methods combined with chemometrics provide a powerful tool that could be applied widely for the quality control of fenugreek.