Abstract: Trigonella foenum graecum (Leguminosae) (Eng: fenugreek, Tamil: Vendayam) is a well known spicy agent and seeds are used traditionally for several medicinal purposes. In present study the ethanol extract of seeds from Trigonella foenum graecum (EETFG) was evaluated for its anti- inflammatory activity in acute (carrageenan, histamine and serotonin induced rat paw oedema) and chronic models (cotton pellet induced granuloma). In all models the EETFG (75 and 150 mg kg-1 b.wt. p.o.) exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity (p<0.001) in a dose dependent manner when compared with saline control. Indomethacin (10 mg kg-1 b.wt. p.o.) was used as reference drug. The EETFG was evaluated for its antioxidant properties by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay and in vitro lipid peroxidation induced by the Fe2+-ascorbate system in rat liver homogenate. In DPPH radical scavenging assay, the EETFG demonstrated marked and dose dependent free radical scavenging effect and the mean inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the EETFG was found to be 75.2 μg mL-1 while the ascorbic acid (reference) exhibited 43.7 μg mL-1. The EETFG effectively inhibited the lipid peroxidation in a dose related manner showing the IC50 value of 279.1 μg mL-1, whereas the quercetin (reference) showed 46.6 μg mL-1. These findings revealed that the Trigonella foenum graecum seeds had remarkable acute and chronic anti-inflammatory and in vitro antioxidant actions in the tested models validating its traditional uses.