Enrichment of hydroalcoholic extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. seed with major components using TLC fingerprint, image analysis, and design of experiment studies

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The seed of famous Indian spice Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Methi) of family Fabaceae is the source of a large number of chemical components and used in a number of herbal formulations as an extract. For the separation of these chemical components from the complex plant matrix, the development of an effective extraction method is necessary. The present study aimed to identify major chemical constituents in the fingerprint developed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and to design an optimized extraction process for the enrichment of Methi seed extract with the selected constituents. METHODS: TLC fingerprint along with the image analysis was used to find the major components depending upon the area under the curve. The independent variables and their range were identified by one-factor-at-a-time experiments. The selected range of variables was further optimized by response surface methodology using the design of experiment (DoE) study to develop an extraction method for the maximum recovery of the selected components. The analysis of variance was utilized to check the fit of the developed model on the basis of quality assessment parameters. RESULTS: The information generated in this study recommends the use of reflux method with 70.57 mL/g of 80% ethanol for 31.19 min at 69.76°C for the maximum extraction of major components from seeds. CONCLUSION: The developed extraction method can be used for lab scale extractions in plant drug standardization and scale-up extractions in herbal industries for the manufacturing of Methi seed formulations.