Okra is one of the important vegetable crops and presently grown in large quantities in different parts of the world. Large quantities of seeds from mature okra pods are discarded as unfit for seedling purposes or sometimes used as poultry feed. However, okra seed has potential for a good source of a wide range of nutrients and bioactive compounds with health benefits. Okra seed contains about 15% of oil and contains a variety of unsaponifiable constituents that are presumed to contribute to the high value of unsaponifable matter (USM). The objectives of the present study were to investigate the constituents in okra seed USM. The content of phytosterol in seed was 1.9 mg/g seed, however, USM had higher content of phytosterol (287.2 mg/g USM). Among phytosterols, the content of β-sitosterol was the highest (312.13 mg/g USM). Total tocopherol content was 31.2 mg/g USM and the content of alpha-tocopherol was the highest (17.5 mg/g USM). The results indicated that USM from okra seed possesses higher amount of health-promoting components than raw seed and could be used as a source of dietary supplement.

Phytosterols and tocopherols content in unsaponifiable matter of okra seed cultivated in South Korea

2019 Spring National Meeting

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