Identification and Quantitative Determination of 4-Hydroxyisoleucine in Trigonella foenum-graecum L. from Iran

Background: the seeds of trigonella foenum-graecum l. (fenugreek) are used in iranian traditional medicine as blood sugar lowering agent. according to last investigations, hypoglycemic property is related to the amino acids of the plant specially 4-hydroxyisoleucine. objective: in this research, identification and quantitative determination of 4-hydroxyisoleucine in fenugreek seeds from shahreza, central part of iran, has been investigated.methods: powdered seeds of the plant were defatted and then extracted by using ethanol 50%. in order to isolation of 4-hydroxyisoleucine from the extract, ion exchange chromatography was used and the amino acid content was determined by using high performance liquid chromatography technique. results: the results showed the presence of 0.4% 4-hydroxyisoleucine in the plant seeds which is considerable amount of the amino acid in the plant collected from iran.conclusion: according to the effects of 4-hydroxyisoleucine such as antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic properties, fenugreek can be considered as an herbal remedy in supportive treatment of these disorders.