These days, many people ask what I think about okra seeds. Honestly, okra is a vegetable that I like to eat, but I wasn’t particularly interested in its seeds. In our field studies in Turkey, a healer said that if fresh fruits are eaten without cooking, they heal stomach ulcers. We observed that this information was effective when we tried it on the ulcer model we created in experimental animals. As a matter of fact, later on, German researchers published a study stating that polysaccharides, the slimy content of the okra fruit, binds and neutralizes the ulcer-causing Helicobacter microbe.
In order to evaluate the extent to which the information about seeds is based on scientific evidence, I first examined what kind of information is available on the internet about the properties of seeds and suggestions were made. As always, the popular saying is “stalk mixed with straw”; In other words, when we look at the effects of the seed, we talk about the effectiveness of the whole okra. So again, exaggerated activity suggestions were made. So, what do the scientific studies on okra seed say?
The scientific name of the okra plant is Abelmoschus esculentus (=Hibiscus esculentus). The name Okra has no implied meaning in Turkish other than itself, but its English is interesting; “Lady’s finger” in reference to its shape; whether thin or full! As basic nutritional components in the seeds of the plant; fixed fat [linoleic acid (50 percent), palmitoleic acid (29 percent), oleic acid (17 percent)], polysaccharides (lectins), amino acids (glutamic acid, arginine, aspartic acid etc.; proline and cystine, close to egg fat) in higher amounts), phenolic compounds (flavonoids, oligomeric proanthocyanidins) as well as valuable minerals, especially phosphorus (0.630 milligrams per cent), magnesium (0.505 milligrams) and calcium (0.25 milligrams per cent).
Okra seeds are brewed and used in blood sugar control by people with diabetes in our country. In the study carried out on experimental animals, it was revealed that this effect is shown by suppressing the enzymes (alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase enzymes) that break down large molecule sugar-derived compounds in the oligo-/polysaccharide structure in the intestine and convert them into sugars and absorb them. Flavonoids with phenolic components (quercetin-3-glycoside and quercetin-3-diglucoside) and oligomeric proanthocyanidins were identified as the components responsible for this effect.
The high cholesterol-lowering effect of the seeds is also reported. These phenolic components in the seeds were determined in another study as effective components that eliminate oxidative damage (antioxidant) and relieve fatigue (antiphatic) of okra seed. It is also reported that these compounds can be as effective as synthetic antidepressant drugs on depression in experimental animals.
Suggestions that seeds may be effective on cancer due to their suppressive effect on tumor necrosis factor-alpha and some other important signaling molecules, depending on their lectin content, are based on experimental studies only. In this respect, it is not possible to talk about a definite treatment response on cancer. Although various degrees of suppressive effect of the aqueous extract of the seeds on some microorganisms have been reported, the results cannot be evaluated as an efficacy yet, since it is an experimental study.
Aqueous and alcoholic extracts of the seeds were found to have a neurotropic effect on memory in experimental animals. In other words, it is reported that it may have an effect on increasing mental functions such as attention, memory, creativity and motivation in healthy individuals.
In conclusion, all studies are experimental, there are no clinical findings, but there are some benefits of okra seed. However, it is not possible to draw a conclusion that using okra seeds can cure diseases such as diabetes, depression and cancer. Apart from these, there is no scientific evidence yet to reveal the claimed effects of okra seed.
