Is Okra a herb and how do you use it?
Okra, what is it?OKra is a vegetable that can be grown in tropical and subtropical areas and has a fruit with a mucus-like juice.
Okra seeds are used as coffee substitute and cooked with other vegetables and meat.
Common names include Okra, Gumbo, Lady fingers, Huang sukui, Gombo, and bamya.
Okra, also known as lady's fingers or gumbo, is a flowering plant in the mallow family.Okra is an annual herb that is cultivated for its green seedpods in warm and tropical climates.Okra can grow even in hot conditions and with less water.
Okra is related to cotton and hollyhock.The Okra plant can grow up to 9 feet in height with palmate leaves.Okra flowers are large with 5 petals that are either white or yellow.Okra seedpods are about 12 to 1 inch wide.Okra fruit is usually green in color with a new red variety.It has ribs along its length.
Okra fruit has mucus-like juice that is used to make stew.Okra has a variety of health benefits.
Okra can be found in most grocery and vegetable stores.Okra fruits are fresh, young, tender and firm.If it can be snapped in two, you will know it is fresh.The green okra is the best variety.
If you have to store okra for later use, do not wash it as it will become slimy, put it in a paper bag and chill it.Okra should be consumed within 3 days.
The study was published in the journal of pharmacy and bio allied sciences.According to the report, okra could be used as a plant against diabetes.There was a reduction in blood sugar levels and the level of cholesterol in the rats who were given okra extracts.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc
The crude polysaccharide isolated from the fresh juice by the precipitation showed strong inhibitory effects.Okra fresh juice preparation was able to prevent the formation of colonies in the stomach.The okra fruit has a complex three-dimensional structure that is fully developed only in the fresh juice of the fruit.http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele.
The Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Masterskill University College of Health Sciences, Selangor, Malaysia, conducted a study on the benefits of okra root extract.It is possible that Okra has anti-oxidant and hepatoprotective activities.According to the present study, the roots H esculentus provide a good source of antioxidants that could offer potential protective effects against lipid oxidation and which could be exploited to make a hepato protective formula.
A study published in the International Journal of PharmTech Research suggests that the mucilage of Abelmoschus esculentus is non toxic.In view of these properties, mucilage of Abelmoschus esculentus can be used as stabilizer and thickener of choice.There is a link to the website at www.sphinxsai.com.
Okra is a vegetable that is safe for young children and pregnant women to eat.
A study titled "Evaluation of the Deleterious Effects of Aqueous Fruit Extract of Abelmoschus Esculentus (Okro Fruit) on Some Male Reproductive Parameters in Sprague Dawley Rats" was published in "Journal of Phytology 2009".There was a reduction in the weight.It may affect male fertility.There is an article in the Journal-phytology.com.