Recently, there has been a paradigm shift from conventional therapies to relatively safer phytotherapies. This divergence is crucial for the management of various chronic diseases. Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) is a popular vegetable crop with good nutritional significance, along with certain therapeutic values, which makes it a potential candidate in the use of a variety of nutraceuticals. Different parts of the okra fruit (mucilage, seed, and pods) contain certain important bioactive components, which confer its medicinal properties. The phytochemicals of okra have been studied for their potential therapeutic activities on various chronic diseases, such as type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular, and digestive diseases, as well as the antifatigue effect, liver detoxification, antibacterial, and chemo-preventive activities. Moreover, okra mucilage has been widely used in medicinal applications such as a plasma replacement or blood volume expanders. Overall, okra is considered to be an easily available, low-cost vegetable crop with various nutritional values and potential health benefits. Despite several reports about its therapeutic benefits and potential nutraceutical significance, there is a dearth of research on the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of okra, which has hampered its widespread use in the nutraceutical industry. This review summarizes the available literature on the bioactive composition of okra and its potential nutraceutical significance. It will also provide a platform for further research on the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of okra for its possible commercial production as a therapeutic agent against various chronic diseases.

Diabetes mellitus is a global threat affecting millions of people of different age groups. In recent years, the development of naturally derived anti-diabetic agents has gained popularity. Okra is a common vegetable containing important bioactive components such as abscisic acid (ABA). ABA, a phytohormone, has been shown to elicit potent anti-diabetic effects in mouse models. Keeping its anti-diabetic potential in mind, in silico study was performed to explore its role in inhibiting proteins relevant to diabetes mellitus- 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD1), aldose reductase, glucokinase, glutamine-fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFAT), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma), and Sirtuin family of NAD(+)-dependent protein deacetylases 6 (SIRT6). A comparative study of the ABA-protein docked complex with already known inhibitors of these proteins relevant to diabetes was compared to explore the inhibitory potential. Calculation of molecular binding energy (ΔG), inhibition constant (pKi), and prediction of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics properties were performed. The molecular docking investigation of ABA with 11-HSD1, GFAT, PPAR-gamma, and SIRT6 revealed considerably low binding energy (ΔG from −8.1 to −7.3 Kcal/mol) and predicted inhibition constant (pKi from 6.01 to 5.21 µM). The ADMET study revealed that ABA is a promising drug candidate without any hazardous effect following all current drug-likeness guidelines such as Lipinski, Ghose, Veber, Egan, and Muegge.

Abelmoschus esculentus (Okra) is an important vegetable crop, widely cultivated around the world due to its high nutritional significance along with several health benefits. Different parts of okra including its mucilage have been currently studied for its role in various therapeutic applications. Therefore, we aimed to develop and characterize the okra mucilage biopolymer (OMB) for its physicochemical properties as well as to evaluate its in vitro antidiabetic activity. The characterization of OMB using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) revealed that okra mucilage containing polysaccharides lies in the bandwidth of 3279 and 1030 cm⁻¹, which constitutes the fingerprint region of the spectrum. In addition, physicochemical parameters such as percentage yield, percentage solubility, and swelling index were found to be 2.66%, 96.9%, and 5, respectively. A mineral analysis of newly developed biopolymers showed a substantial amount of calcium (412 mg/100 g), potassium (418 mg/100 g), phosphorus (60 mg/100 g), iron (47 mg/100 g), zinc (16 mg/100 g), and sodium (9 mg/100 g). The significant antidiabetic potential of OMB was demonstrated using α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzyme inhibitory assay. Further investigations are required to explore the newly developed biopolymer for its toxicity, efficacy, and its possible utilization in food, nutraceutical, as well as pharmaceutical industries.

Objective: Cancer chemoprevention with phytochemicals such as “lutein” derived from the vegetable okra could prove beneficial. Therefore, the objective of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of “lutein” against the breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7) and to establish the possible development of lutein based nutraceuticals. Methodology: A literature survey was performed using online data bases such as PubMed, Google scholar, and EMBASE, from 2000 to 2020 by using keywords such as “Lutein”, “Anticancer activity”, “Breast cancer cell lines”, and “MCF-7”. Studies reported lutein anticancer potentials against MCF-7 were included in the study. Results: Out of 28 studies, 7 research articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis data indicated that, a lutein concentration at ≥1 µM was able to reduce the MCF-7 cell viability of 59.837 with a 95% confidence interval (CI): 48.331 to 71.343. Additionally, a forest plot of the cumulative studies also indicated that impact of lutein concentration to reduce the MCF-7 cell viability was around 60%. Moreover, the I² value of lutein was 74%, which is a considerable heterogeneity. Conclusion: Therefore, based upon the meta-analysis data, the conclusion is that dietary lutein supplementation and fortification of food with clinical data could be an approach to develop a nutraceutical product for preventive, as well as for adjunct therapeutic purposes in various breast cancer subtypes.

Introduction: Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) is widely distributed in natural environments, particularly in soil and plant matter, and is frequently linked to foodborne illness outbreaks, accounting for approximately 1.4%–12% of food poisoning cases worldwide. This study aimed to assess the presence of toxigenic and emetic genes among B. cereus isolates, evaluate their antibiotic susceptibility, and investigate the antimicrobial potential of Artemisia vulgaris (A. vulgaris) extract. Methods: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to detect toxigenic and emetic genes in B. cereus isolates. Antibiotic susceptibility was tested against a panel of agents. The antimicrobial, antibiofilm, antioxidant, cytotoxic, and gene-suppressing activities of methanolic A. vulgaris extract were evaluated using standard microbiological, biochemical, and molecular assays. GC-MS and HPLC analyses were performed to identify major bioactive compounds. Results: PCR revealed that the isolates harbored hemolysin BL (HBL) genes hblA (8.62%) and hblB (20.68%), non-hemolytic enterotoxin (NHE) genes nheA (20.68%) and nheB (22.41%), as well as bceT (29.30%) and ces (15.51%) genes associated with emetic toxin production. Antibiotic testing showed high sensitivity to ciprofloxacin (91.37%) and rifampicin (96.54%), but strong resistance to ampicillin (86.20%) and novobiocin (65.51%). A. vulgaris extract demonstrated potent antibacterial activity (inhibition zones: 19.20 ± 0.25 mm to 27.10 ± 0.13 mm; MICs: 62.5–250 μg/mL), significantly inhibited biofilm formation, and downregulated toxigenic genes by −2.5 to −5.2 fold ( ^*** P < 0.0001). The extract also displayed strong antioxidant activity (IC ₅₀ : 12.7 μg/mL, DPPH; 14.2 μg/mL, ABTS) and low cytotoxicity (IC ₅₀ : 524.7 ± 1.23 μg/mL, Vero cells; 236.5 ± 1.74 μg/mL, HFB4 cells). GC-MS identified dopamine N,N-dimethyl-dimethyl ether (40.31%) and n-hexadecanoic acid (16.57%) as major compounds, while HPLC revealed high levels of chlorogenic acid, luteolin, and quercitrin. Discussion/conclusion: These findings highlight the public health risks posed by toxigenic B. cereus in food contamination. The methanolic extract of A. vulgaris exhibits strong antibacterial, antibiofilm, antioxidant, and gene-suppressing activities, supporting its potential as a natural therapeutic strategy against B. cereus and its virulence factors.