LEGUME FORAGE CROPS WITH MEDICINAL VALUE AND THEIR SECONDARY METABOLITE CONTENTS: Vicia sp., Trifolium sp., Trigonella foenum-graecum L., Lathyrus sp.

Secondary metabolites are effective in developing defense mechanisms against disease-causing bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites in plants. In addition to this, they play a role in resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, attracting insects for pollination, and interacting with rhizobium bacteria for nodule formation in legumes (Ku et al., 2020; Kaushik et al., 2021; Elshafie et al., 2023).