Studies On The Chemical Constituents Of Trigonella Caerulea

Trigonella caerulea is a plant of Trigonella in the family Fabaceae, alias Blue Fenugreek. Its seeds are used as medicine, which has diuresis, and relieving pain effects. The plant is cultivated in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Jiangsu and other provinces in China.Three chemical compounds were isolated from the ethanol extracts of the stems of Trigonella caerulea through the various column chromatography technology. According to the physical and chemical properties and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data, the three chemical compounds were identified as (3-sitosterol, diosgenin and trigonelline.The uniform design method was applied to optimize the ultrasonic extraction of trigonelline from the stem of Trigonella coerulea. Taking the yield of trigonelline as index, the content of trigonelline was determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). On the basis of single factor experiments, the four major effect factors, including extraction temperature, the extraction time, the ultrasonic power and the methanol concentration were selected to optimize the extraction conditions using uniform design. The results were analyzed through SPSS software. The optimal conditions for trigonelline extraction were explored to be ultrasonically extracted with48%methanol at64℃and120W ultrasonic power for75min. The ultrasonic extraction is efficient and rapid for trigonelline with high yield.The HPLC was used to determine the trigonelline contents in different parts of Trigonella caerulea from different periods. The results show that the trigonelline contents in various organs of Trigonella caerulea were significantly different in different developmental stages, and the higher levels of trigonelline were found in the flower and fruit(3.9～4.0mg/g). The trigonelline contents in various organs of Trigonella caerulea in different growth phases showed the different variation patterns. The total trigonelline content of Trigonella caerulea has positive, and the total trigonelline contents in various organs of Trigonella caerulea from different periods have significant difference. In fruit maturity phase, stems and fruit were the the major accumulation orsans.