Phytochemical analysis, antioxidant activity, and pancreatic lipase inhibitory effect of ethanolic extract of Trigonella foenumgraceum L. leaves

Abstract

Obesity is known as a chronic metabolic disease that can be controlled by inhibition activities of the digestive enzymes like pancreatic lipase (PL). Trigonella foenumgraceum L. named commonly as fenugreek is widely used in traditional therapies owing to its abundant health benefits. The current study aimed to characterize the phytochemical components of fenugreek leaves extract (FLE) and evaluate its inhibitory activity against PL activity. As evidence from chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) the FLE possesses various valuable bioactive compounds. In addition, phytochemical analyses using colorimetric assays validate high content of phenolic (18.32 mg of gallic acid equivalent per g dry extract) and flavonoid (41.89 mg equivalent to quercetin (EQ) per g of dry extract) compounds in FLE. PL inhibitory results revealed that the FLE competitively inhibited the activity of PL in a concentration-dependent manner within the evaluated dose ranges. Moreover, FLE demonstrated free radical scavenging ability with IC50 of 89.44 μg/mL against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. These findings present FLE as a natural antioxidant with inhibitory activity against PL.