Abstract

THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF ABELMOSCHUS ESCULENTUS (OKRA) ON RATS INDUCED DIABETES THAT THROWS NEW LIGHT ON MANAGING TYPE II DIABETIC PATIENTS

Dr. Hassan Sadek* and Issa Alnjauidi

Abstract

Background: Abelmoschus esculentus (Okra) is one of popular vegetable in many countries. Medically it is an excellent source of potassium, vitamins B, C, antioxidants and calcium. Nowadays it becomes an area of interest due to its antidiabetic effect. In this systematic review we are using mice to model human disease. Genetically and gnomically, the human and the mouse are very similar, with many of the disease-related genes are nearly identical. The major objective of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) on diabetic mice, and the impact of the outcome results on type II diabetic patients. Method: PubMed, Cochrane databases, Access Medicine and Google Scholar search was conducted to find out studies that evaluate the ability of Okra to lower blood glucose on diabetic mice. As the result of the deep search and using inclusion and exclusion criteria and JBI critical appraisal tools 4 articles were selected. All of these articles evaluate the antidiabetic effect of Okra. Results: All the identified studies confirm the antidiabetic effect of Abelmoschus esculentus in diabetic rates. The results showed clear reduction in the level of blood glucose, HbA1c and others diabetic markers. In addition to this they revealed potential of hypolipidemic, antiinflammatory and anti-cancer effects of okra. Conclusion: The results of this systematic review confirm that Okra has the potential to be an excellent choice for managing glucose level on type II diabetic patients. However, direct studies on human type II diabetic patients need to be done before confirming its effect in human.

Keywords: AE: Abelmoschus esculentus. HbA1C: Haemoglobin A1C test. TG: Triglyceride HDL: High Density Lipoprotein. LDL: Low Density Lipoprotein.