Abstract:  Steam distillation which combined with solvent extraction method was adopted to separate the volatile constituents from the stems and leaves of Trigonella foenum-graecum under unfermented and fermented condition. The composition was isolated and determined by capillary GC-MS technique and compared with the NIST02 standard MS database by computer. The relative content of each component was calculated by area normalization method. The results showed that the components and contents of the volatile oils extracted with two different methods are differ from each other, and the producing rate improved obviously through yeast fermentation. By capillary chromatogram, 93 peaks were isolated and 65 of them were identified which accounted for 69.89% of the total contents under unfermented condition. Meanwhile, 134 peaks were isolated and 49 of them were identified which accounted for 36.57% of the total contents under fermented condition. There are 32 compounds in both of them, which is different from that in other existent documents.

Key words: Trigonella foenum-graecum L., ferment, volatile constituents, GC-MS