Oil content, fatty acids profile, phenolic compounds and biological activity of the seeds from wild Medicago species growing in Iran

Medicago is a significant genus of the Fabaceae family, and the most important species of this genus is M. sativa L., which is cultivated as fodder crops around the world. This study investigates the agro-morphological traits, the content of oils, fatty acids, condensed tannins, total triterpene saponins, and phenolic compounds, as well as biological activities across the seeds of 18 populations from six Iranian Medicago species (M. crassipes (Boiss.) E.Small, M. monantha (C.A.Mey.) Trautv., M. monspeliaca (L.) Trautv., M. orthoceras (Kar. & Kir.) Trautv., M. phrygia (Boiss. & Balansa) E.Small, and M. sativa). The findings reveal that seeds of M. sativa and M. phrygia have high oil (9.07 ± 0.05–10.64 ± 0.10%), linoleic acid (31.45 ± 0.54–38.67 ± 0.42%), quercetin (512.12 ± 4.20–574.76 ± 8.75 µg/g dry weight), and apigenin (170.12 ± 2.50–214.23 ± 4.63 µg/g dry weight) content, demonstrating significant antioxidant potential (108.45 ± 0.35–135.55 ± 0.40 μg/ml and 139.35 ± 0.75‒149.47 ± 1.40 μmol Fe+2/g dry weight). The seed oils exhibit significant antimicrobial activity against a range of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of less than 2 mg/ml across all studied species and populations, indicating strong antibacterial capabilities. Among the species studied, M. sativa and M. phrygia demonstrated the lowest MIC values against the tested bacteria (0.418–0.954 mg/ml) and fungi (0.405–0.940 mg/ml). The findings underscore the importance of these Medicago species in both breeding programs and the development of health-related products.