Nutritional Quality and Health Benefits of Ok...

Nutritional Quality and Health Benefits of Okra: A Review

Author Name : Sripuram Navya, Nilesh Talekar

ABSTRACT Okra is a multipurpose crop which can use as for cooking and for medicinal purpose also. In medicinal purpose the okra mucilage has used as plasma replacement (or) blood volume expander.Okra is very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin K and C, potassium, folate, B6 & B1 and also it has flavonoids mainly quercetin and phytosterols. It is one of the important vegetable crop with nutritional quality and potential health benefits. Okra is an important tropical vegetable and source of dietary medicine. Here, we assayed the effects of an ethanol extract of okra (EO) and its major flavonoids isoquercitrin and quercetin 3-O-gentiobioside on metabolic disorders in high-fat diet-induced obese mouse. We found that treatment with EO, isoquercitrin and quercetin 3-O-gentiobioside reduced blood glucose and serum insulin levels and improved glucose tolerance in obese mice. Meanwhile, serum triglyceride levels and liver morphology in the mice were significantly ameliorated by EO and isoquercitrin treatment. Total cholesterol levels in isoquercitrin and quercetin 3-Ogentiobioside treated mice were also reduced. We also found that EO inhibited the expression of nuclear receptor transcription factor PPARγ, which is an important regulator of lipid and glucose homeostasis. Furthermore, we determined that EO and quercetin 3-O-gentiobioside have antioxidant activity in vitro. Our results indicate that okra may serve as a dietary therapy for hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia.Okra seed oil contains linoliec acid, A polyunsaturated fatty acid which is more essential for human nutrition fiber content renders them unpalateble when fruits mature increases. Okra is a powerhouse of valuble nutrients, nearly half of which is soluble fibre in the form of gums and pectin which help to lower serum cholesterol.