Sundaram, S: Health and Medicinal Uses of Fenugreek Trigonel

The plant fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) dedicated for the maximum beneficial use of the plant for mankind as well as in study of fenugreek biology The objectives of this study were to access the nutritional and medicinal values of plant fenugreek. Like the availability of rich essential amino acids content, dietary fibers and minerals which can categorize the plant as a good nutritional source. The different extracts have been tested for their antimicrobial properties in different pathogenic bacterial strains causing skin and gastrointestinal complications. Another objective was to access the genetic diversity among the different genotypes of fenugreek. RAPD based DNA finger printing have been prepared. Operon series commercial primers with 70% GC content have been used for the RAPD. This technique provided us several species specific or cultivar specific markers. The phylogenetic tree prepared revealed the relative similarity and dissimilarity among these accessions. Different markers have been identified which can be used to characterize the germplasm of fenugreek. These molecular markers can also be used for the characterization of specific traits in breeding programs