Abelmoschus esculentus

Scientific name: Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench

Synonym: Hibiscus esculentus L.

Botanical family: MALVACEAE

Vernacular names

(In territories with significant traditional TRAMIL use)

Haiti:

calalou

Dominica:

gumbo
okra

Dominican Republic:

molondrón

Other vernacular names

Haiti:

gonbo
kalalou
kalalou ou gonbo

Dominica:

okra
okra-gumbo

Geographical distribution

Native of the Old World. Cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions.

Botanical description

Annual, erect, woody at the base, up to 3 or 4 m, non-ramified. Orbicular leaves, 10-30 cm, 5-7 lobate; lanceolate to ovate serrate lobes, acute or obtuse. Calyx 2 cm, yellow petals with purple spots in the centre, 3-4 cm. Angular capsular fruit of up to 20 cm, acuminate, viscous.

Voucher(s)

Jiménez,683,JBSD

boil

fruit, crushed, in local application²

ocular affections

fruit, maceration, eyewashes¹

The fruits of Abelmoschus esculentus are a relatively widespread food for human consumption.

TRAMIL Work²⁸

For ocular infections:

wash the fruit and remove its external villi; chop 4-5 average-sized fruits (5 cm) and add them to 4 cups (1 litre) of boiled water, leave them to rest until they reach a mucilaginous texture, strain (filter) the preparation with a clean cloth before making an eye wash every 2-4 hours.

For boils:

wash the fruit and remove its external villi. Wash the lesion with boiled water and soap, apply 2-5 grams of crushed fruit on the affected area. Cover with a clean cloth and change every 12 hours.

Preparations must never be stored for more than 24 hours, even if refrigerated.

According to the information available:

The use of the fruit for ocular conditions and boils is classified as REC based on the significant traditional use documented in the TRAMIL surveys, the toxicity studies and the scientific information published.

For ocular conditions, there is a risk of increasing the irritation by the application of the maceration of the fruit in eyewashes.

All topical applications, in particular in the eyes, must follow the strictest hygiene measures, in order to prevent contamination or additional infection and to avoid contact with substances that can irritate the conjunctiva.

Ensure adequate washing and cleaning of the fruit, as well as the removal of its external villi; these can cause irritation to the skin and mucosa.

If deterioration is observed in the patient or the ocular symptoms persist for more than 3 days or the infection in the skin for more than 5 days, seek medical attention.

Not for use during pregnancy, breastfeeding or in children under 12 years of age for ocular conditions and 5 years for skin conditions.

TRAMIL Work²³

The crushed fresh fruit in topical application for 4 hours (patch with 0.5 g over 6 cm² of healthy and damaged skin), on 3 New Zealand albino rabbits (LEBi model), did not cause oedema or erythema after 72 hours of observation.

TRAMIL Work²⁴

The aqueous extract (freeze-dried) of the fresh fruit, (500 mg/ml/5 days over an area of 5 cm²) topical route in injured and healthy on the right dorsal skin of 3 New Zealand rabbits. The left side of the skin was used as a control (0.5 ml distilled water).

The degree of dermal irritation or corrosion was evaluated at specific intervals (OECD 404). Both sides of the skin of each animal were observed one hour, 24, 48, 72 hours after removing the substance and daily until day 14. No presence of oedema or erythema at the site of treatment was observed.

TRAMIL Work²⁵

The freeze-dried fruit was administered at a single dose (100 mg) in the conjunctival sac of the right eye of 3 New Zealand rabbits. The untreated eye was used as a control. The degree of ocular irritation or corrosion was evaluated using scores for the lesions in the conjunctiva, cornea, and iris, at specific intervals (OECD 405). Both eyes of each animal were observed after one hour, 24, 48, 72 hours and daily until day 14. The duration of the study was sufficient in order to evaluate the reversibility/irreversibility of the effects of plant material. The fruit was classified as non-irritant according to the results obtained.

The villi of the fruit can cause cutaneous irritation²⁶. These can cause contact dermatitis in those collecting the fruit, as an expression of an IgE-mediated immediate type hypersensitivity reaction. These workers show positive reactions to intradermal and nasal administration of the fruit extracts²⁷.

There is no information available documenting the safety of medicinal use in children, during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

The fruit is rich in phosphorus and calcium³. It also contains: polysaccharides⁴: mucilage⁵; amino acids: alanine, arginine and γ-aminobutyric acid⁶; terpenes: gibberellins⁷, carotenoids⁸, polyphenols⁹ such as gossypol and hemi-gossypol¹⁰; lipids: saturated and unsaturated fatty acids¹¹; flavonoids: quercetin, hyperoside¹² and 3',4'-dimethoxyquercetin¹³; essential oil: citral¹⁴; coumarins: scopoletin¹²; miscellaneous: oxalic acid 0.05% and vitamins: C and B6¹⁵.

Proximate analysis of 100 g of the fruit¹⁶: calories: 36; water: 88.9%; protein: 2.4%; fat: 0.3%; carbohydrates: 7.6%; fiber: 1%; ash: 0.8%; calcium: 92 mg; phosphorus: 51 mg; iron: 0.6 mg; sodium: 3 mg; potassium: 249 mg; carotene: 312 µg; thiamine: 0.17 mg; riboflavin: 0.21 mg; niacin: 1 mg; ascorbic acid: 31 mg.

TRAMIL Work¹⁷

The juice of the fruit shows no activity (252, 126 and 63 µg/ml) in vitro against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6341), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (ATCC 15305), Escherichia coli (ATCC 4157), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 7700), Proteus vulgaris (ATCC 6896), Haemophilus influenzae (ATCC 8142) or Candida albicans (ATCC 752).

The ethanolic extract (95%) of the dried fruit, undiluted¹⁸, and the extract of the dried fruit (1 g/100 ml of ethanol 95%) with application of 0.1 ml/culture plate¹⁹showed activity against Staphylococcus aureus by diffusion in an agar plate.

The hydroalcoholic tincture of the fruit (50% ethanol) at a concentration of 50 µl/disc was active in vitro against Neisseria gonorrhoeae with 80% inhibition by diffusion on an agar plate^20-21.

The methanolic extract of the fruit in mice (2 mg/ear), an inflammation model induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol acetate (TPA) showed a local anti-inflammatory effect²².

Pharmacopoeia

Ed.3

CETRA latest revision

11/2022

References

1 WENIGER B, 1987-88

Encuesta TRAMIL. enda-caribe, Santo Domingo, Rep. Dominicana.

2 CHARLES C, 1988

TRAMIL survey. Movement for Cultural Awareness MCA, Roseau, Dominica.

3 BASU KP, GHOSH D, 1943

Availability of Ca in lady’s finger (Hibiscus esculentus), cabbage (Brassica oleracea capitata), drumstick (Moringa oleifera), and amaranth tender (Amaranthus gangeticus). I. Experiments. Indian J Med Res 31:29-31.

4 LENGSFELD C, TITGEMEYER F, FALLER G, HENSEL A, 2004

Glycosylated compounds from okra inhibit adhesion of Helicobacter pylori to human gastric mucosa. J Agric Food Chem 52(6):1495-1503.

5 WOOLFE ML, CHAPLIN MF, OTCHERE G, 1977

Studies on the mucilages extracted from okra fruits (Hibiscus esculentus) and baobab leaves (Adansonia digitata). J Sci Food Agr 28(6):519-529.

6 DEMETRIADES SD, 1956

Chromatographic detection of free amino-acids in normal iron-deficient plants of Hibiscus esculentus L. Nature 177(4498):95.

7 KOSHIOKA M, NISHIJIMA T, YAMAZAKI H, 1996

Endogenous gibberellins in the immature seeds of okra. J Plant Physiol 149(1-2):129-132.

8 BUREAU JL, BUSHWAY RJ, 1986

HPLC determination of carotenoids in fruits and vegetables in the United States. J Food Sci (51)1:128-130.

9 SAKAKIBARA H, HONDA Y, NAKAGAWA S, ASHIDA H, KANAZAWA K, 2003

Simultaneous determination of all polyphenols in vegetables, fruits, and teas. J Agric Food Chem 51(3):571-581.

10 SCHMIDT JH, WELLS R, 1990

Evidence for the presence of gossypol in malvaceous plants other than those in the “cotton tribe”. J Agr Food Chem 38(2):505-508.

11 BERRY SK, 1980

The fatty acid composition and cyclopropene fatty acid content of the maturing okra (Hibiscus esculentus L.) fruits. Pertanika 3(2):82-86.

12 BANDYUKOVA VA, LIGAI LV, 1987

A chemical investigation of the fruit of Abelmoschus esculentus. Chem Nat Comp 23(3):376-377.

13 DANIEL M, 1989

Polyphenols of some Indian vegetables. Curr Sci 58(23):1332-1334.

14 OSMAN AM, YOUNES MEG, ATA FM, 1974

Chemical examinations of local plants: Part X. Comparative studies between the constituents of some parts of Hibiscus esculentus Linn (Egyptian okra). Indian J Chem 12(9):1019A.

15 DUKE JA, 1992

Handbook of phytochemical constituents of GRAS herbs and other economic plants. Boca Raton, USA: CRC Press.

16 DUKE JA, ATCHLEY AA, 1986

Handbook of proximate analysis tables of higher plants. Boca Raton, USA: CRC Press. p7.

17 LUCIANO-MONTALVO C, GAVILLAN-SUAREZ J, BOULOGNE I, 2011

A screening for antimicrobial activities of Caribbean herbal remedies. Informe TRAMIL. Cuadernos de Investigación del Instituto de Investigaciones Interdisciplinarias de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Cayey. Cuaderno 16.

18 GEORGE M, PANDALAI KM 1949

Investigations on plant antibiotics. Part IV. Further search for antibiotic substances in Indian medicinal plants. Indian J Med Res 37(2):169-181.

19 VERPOORTE R, DIHAL PP, 1987

Medicinal plants of Surinam. IV. Antimicrobial activity of some medicinal plants. J Ethnopharmacol 21(3):315-318.

20 CACERES A, MENENDEZ H, MENDEZ E, COHOBON E, SAMAYAO BE, JAUREGUI E, PERALTA E, CARRILLO G, 1992

Antigonorrhoeal activity of plants used in Guatemala for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacia, Universidad de San Carlos, Guatemala, Guatemala. TRAMIL VI, Basse Terre, Guadeloupe, UAG/enda-caribe.

21 CACERES A, MENENDEZ H, MENDEZ E, COHOBON E, SAMAYAO BE, JAUREGUI E, PERALTA E, CARRILLO G, 1995

Antigonorrhoeal activity of plants used in Guatemala for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. J Ethnopharmacol 48(2):85-88.

22 YASUKAWA K, YAMAGUCHI A, ARITA J, SAKURAI S, IKEDA A, TAKIDO M, 1993

Inhibitory effect of edible plant extract on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced ear oedema in mice. Phytother Res 7(2):185-189.

23 LOPEZ M, MOREJON Z, GARCIA AI, MARTINEZ MJ, 2013

Irritabilidad dérmica primaria de frutos frescos machacados de Abelmoschus esculentus. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, La Habana, Cuba.

24 CAIZA F, AYMERICH R, 2013

Irritabilidad dérmica aguda del liofilizado del fruto de Abelmoschus esculentus. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos, LEBi, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

25 CAIZA F, AYMERICH R, 2013

Irritabilidad ocular del liofilizado del fruto de Abelmoschus esculentus.

Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos, LEBi, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

26 MORTON JF, 1981

Atlas of medicinal plants of Middle America. Springfield, USA: Charles C. Thomas Publisher.

27 UEDA A, MANDA F, AOYAMA K, UEDA T, OBAMA K, LI Q, TOCHIGI T, 1993

Immediate-type allergy related to okra (Hibiscus esculentus L.) picking and packing. Environ Res 62(2):189-199.

28 CARBALLO A, 1995

Plantas medicinales del Escambray cubano. Apuntes científicos. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio provincial de producción de medicamentos, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba.

Disclaimer

The information provided is for educational purposes only for the benefit of the general public and health professionals. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. Since some parts of plants could be toxic, might induce side effects, or might have interactions with certain drugs, anyone intending to use them or their products must first consult with a physician or another qualified health care professional. TRAMIL has no responsibility whatsoever towards the user for any decision, action or omission made in relation to the information contained in this Pharmacopoeia.

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Abelmoschus esculentus

Vernacular names

Haiti:

Dominica:

Dominican Republic:

Haiti:

Dominica:

Geographical distribution

Botanical description

Voucher(s)

Pharmacopoeia

CETRA latest revision

References

Disclaimer