A chemical test for identification of lucerne (Medicago sativa) seeds

Abstract

Lucerne seed, whose importation is restricted in some countries, was distinguished from most annual medic seed by means of a chemical test based on the detection, by thin-layer chromatography, of two characteristic phenolic compounds, which displayed yellow fluorescence under ultra-violet light. One hundred and forty-four Medicago species and varieties, including 12 of lucerne, were tested using the relatively simple technique that was sensitive enough to locate the reference compounds in samples as small as two seeds, and could readily be adapted to the testing of large numbers of seed samples.