Chapter II
Review of Related Literature
This chapter represents a review of related literature and studies about okra
and gugo that can be made as an homemade shampoo and can strengthen the
tensile of the hair.
Okra
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) Moench, known in many English-speaking
countries as lady's fingers or gumbo) is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It is
valued for its edible green seed pods. Originating in Africa, the plant is cultivated in
tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions around the world. The name
"okra", most often used in the United States and the Philippines, is of West African
origin and is cognate with "ọ́kụ̀rụ̀" in Igbo, a language spoken in Nigeria. Okra is
often known as "Lady's Fingers" outside of the United States. In various Bantu
languages, okra is called "kingombo" or a variant thereof, and this is the origin of its
name in Portuguese ("quiabo"), Spanish, Dutch and French, and also of the name
"gumbo", used in parts of the United States and English-speaking Caribbean for
either the vegetable, or a stew based on it. In the United Kingdom it is often called
as "bhindi", from its Hindi name "bhindi" or "bhendi".
It is a tall-growing, warm-season, annual vegetable from the same family as
hollyhock, rose of Sharon and hibiscus. The immature pods are used for soups,
canning and stews or as a fried or boiled vegetable. The hibiscuses like flowers and
upright plant (3 to 6 feet or more in height) have ornamental value for backyard
gardens.
Structure and physiology
The species is an annual or perennial, growing to 2 m tall. It is related to such
species as cotton, cocoa, and hibiscus. The leaves are 10–20 cm long and broad,
palmately lobed with 5–7 lobes. The flowers are 4–8 cm diameter, with five white to
yellow petals, often with a red or purple spot at the base of each petal. The fruit is a
capsule up to 18 cm long, containing numerous seeds.
Abelmoschus esculentus is cultivated throughout the tropical and warm
temperate regions of the world for its fibrous fruits or pods containing round, white
seeds. It is among the most heat- and drought-tolerant vegetable species in the
world—but severe frost can damage the pods—and will tolerate poor soils with
heavy clay and intermittent moisture.
In cultivation, the seeds are soaked overnight prior to planting to a depth of
1–2 cm. Germination occurs between six days (soaked seeds) and three weeks.
Seedlings require ample water. The seed pods rapidly become fibrous and woody
and must be harvested within a week of the fruit being pollinated to be edible.[4] The
fruits are harvested when immature and eaten as a vegetable.
Origin and distribution
Okra is an allopolyploid of uncertain parentage (proposed parents include
Abelmoschus ficulneus, Abelmoschus tuberculatus and a reported "diploid" form of
okra). Truly wild, as opposed to naturalized, populations, are not definitely known,
and the species may be a cultigen.
The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with supporters of South Asian,
Ethiopian and West African origins. Supporters of a South Asian origin point to the
presence of its proposed parents in that region. Opposed to this is the lack of a
word for okra in the ancient languages of suggesting that it arrived there in the
Common Era. Supporters of a West African origin point to the greater diversity of
okra in that region; however confusion between Okra and Abelmoschus caillei (West
African okra) casts doubt on those analyses.
The Egyptians and Moors of the 12th and 13th centuries used the Arabic word
for the plant, suggesting that it had come from the east. The plant may have
entered south west Asia across the Red Sea or the Bab-el-Mandeb strait to the
Arabian Peninsula, rather than north across the Sahara, or from India. One of the
earliest accounts is by a Spanish Moor who visited Egypt in 1216, who described the
plant under cultivation by the locals who ate the tender, young pods with meal.
From Arabia, the plant spread around the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and
eastward.
Okra flower bud and immature seed pod
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Abelmoschus
Species: A. esculentus
Binomial name
(L.) Moench
The plant was introduced to the Americas by ships plying the Atlantic slave
trade by 1658, when its presence was recorded in Brazil. It was further documented
in Suriname in 1686.
Okra may have been introduced to southeastern North America in the early 18th
century. It was being grown as far north as Philadelphia by 1748. Thomas Jefferson
noted that it was well established in Virginia by 1781. It was commonplace
throughout the southern United States by 1800 and the first mention of different
cultivars was in 1806.[4]
Okra seed pod
In Caribbean islands, okra is eaten as soup, often with fish. In Haiti it is
cooked with rice and maize, and also used as a sauce for meat. It became a popular
vegetable in Japanese cuisine toward the end of the 20th century, served with soy
sauce and katsuobushi, or as tempura.
Okra forms part of several regional "signature" dishes. Frango com quiabo
(chicken with okra) is a Brazilian dish that is especially famous in the region of
Minas Gerais. Gumbo, a hearty stew whose key ingredient is okra, is found
throughout the Gulf Coast of the United States and in the South Carolina
Lowcountry. Breaded, deep fried okra is eaten in the southern United States. Okra is
also an ingredient expected in callaloo, a Caribbean dish and the national dish of
Trinidad and Tobago. Okra is also eaten in Nigeria, where draw soup is a popular
dish, often eaten with garri or cassava. In Vietnam, okra is the important ingredient
in the dish canh chua. Okra slices can also be added to ratatouille, combining very
well with the other ingredients of this French popular dish.[7]
Okra leaves may be cooked in a similar way to the greens of beets or
dandelions. The leaves are also eaten raw in salads. Okra seeds may be roasted and
ground to form a caffeinate-free substitute for coffee. When importation of coffee
was disrupted by the American Civil War in 1861, the Austin State Gazette noted,
"An acre of okra will produce seed enough to furnish a plantation of fifty negroes
with coffee in every way equal to that imported from Rio."[9]
Okra oil is a pressed seed oil, extracted from the seeds of the okra. The
greenish-yellow edible oil has a pleasant taste and odor, and is high in unsaturated
fats such as oleic acid and linoleic acid.[10] The oil content of the seed can be quite
high at about 40%. Oil yields from okra crops are also high. At 794 kg/ha, the yield
was exceeded only by that of sunflower oil in one trial. Common Okra seed is
[12]
reported to contain only 15% oil
Nutritional Value & Health Benefits
Okra is a powerhouse of valuable nutrients. Nearly half of which is soluble
fiber in the form of gums and pectins. Soluble fiber helps to lower serum
cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease. The other half is insoluble fiber which
helps to keep the intestinal tract healthy decreasing the risk of some forms of
cancer, especially colorectal cancer. Nearly 10% of the recommended levels of
vitamin B6 and folic acid are also present in a half cup of cooked okra.
Nutrition Facts (1/2 cup sliced, cooked okra)
Calories 25
Dietary Fiber 2 grams
Protein 1.52 grams
Carbohydrates 5.76 grams
Vitamin A 460 IU
Vitamin C 13.04 mg
Folic acid 36.5 micrograms
Calcium 50.4 mg
Iron 0.4 mg
Potassium 256.6 mg
Magnesium 46 mg
Gugo
This plant is very large tree found throughout the Philippines. It grows wild on Mt.
Banahaw. Gugo is used extensively in the Philippines for washing hair and for hair
tonics. When the bark is soaked in water and rubbed, it produces a lather which
cleanses the scalp very effectively. The active principle of the bark is saponin.
A very large, woody climber. Stems thick as a man’s arm, angled, and much
twisted and the bark is dark brown and rough.
Leaves: tripinnate, the common petioles usually ending in a long tendril. Pinnae
stalked, usually 4 in number. Leaflets oblong or obovate, 2.5 to 5 cm long, rigidly
leathery and smooth. Flowers: 2 to 3 mm long, yellowish white, either crowded in
long slender spikes from the axils of the upper leaves or arranged in terminal
panicles.
Fruits: pods, few, pendant, 30 to 100 cm long and 7 to 10 cm wide, somewhat
curved, slightly constricted between the seeds. Seeds are hard, and circular with
their sides flattened.
Distribution
In forests at low and medium altitudes, from Northern Luzon (Cagayan) to Mindanao
and Palawan.
Medicinal Uses
For rheumatic lumbar and leg pains, sprains, contusions: use dried vine
materials, 15 to 30 gms in decoction.
For jaundice, edema due to malnutrition: use powdered seeds, 3 to 9 gms taken
orally with water.
Abdominal pains and colic: Pound the kernels of the seeds, mix with oil and
apply as poultice onto affected area.
Counterirritant: Make a paste of the seeds and apply to glandular swellings in
the axilla, loins and joints, and swollen hands and feet.
Hair wash: Soak the prepared bark in water until soft; express the juice by
rubbing the spread fibers against each other until lather is produced; use as hair
shampoo.
In the Dutch Indies, young leaves are eaten, raw or cooked.In Bali and Sumatra, the
seeds after certain treatment, are eaten.In South Africa, pod and seeds are used as
coffee substitute.
For rheumatic lumbar and leg pains, sprains, contusions: use dried vine materials,
15 to 30 gms in decoction. For jaundice, edema due to malnutrition: use powdered
seeds, 3 to 9 gms taken orally with water.Abdominal pains and colic: Pound the
kernels of the seeds, mix with oil and apply as poultice onto affected area.
Counterirritant: Make a paste of the seeds and apply to glandular swellings in the
axilla, loins and joints, and swollen hands and feet.
Used as hair growth stimulant.
For skin itches, the affected part is washed with a decoction of the bark.
Stem, macerated in cold water, makes a cleansing soap; also, used as an emetic.
Seeds used as emetic. Also, used as febrifuge.
In South Africa, seeds used by infants to bite on during their teething period. Also,
used as remedy for cerebral hemorrhage.
Hair: Used extensively in the Philippines and other oriental countries for washing
the hair. Also, an ingredient of hair tonics. The bark is soaked in water until soft; the
fibers are then spread, the juice is then expressed by rubbing the fibers against
each other until it lathers, which is then used to cleanse the scalp. Seeds also used
as hair wash.
Poison: Used as a fish poison.
Wood: Bark is used as cordage. In Europe, used for tinder and for making match
boxes.
Plaything: Large pods and seeds used by children as playthings.
Illuminant: In the Sunda Islands, a fatty oil extracted from the seeds used as
illuminant.
Snuff: In Europe, seeds reportedly used for snuff.
Parts utilized
Bark, seeds and vines.
- Vines and seeds. The vines may be collected during any time of the year, rinse,
section into slices, steam, and sundry.
The seeds may be collected from January to April. Remove seed coat, roast in a
frying pan, sun-dry and pulverize.
Cultivation: Use seeds and layering for propagation.
Constituents
Saponin; fixed oil, 18%; traces of an alkaloid; sapogenin, oleanolic acid.
Study reported saponin to be abundant in the bark, less so in the wood, plentiful in
the seeds, and absent from the leaves.
Properties
Slightly bitter-acrid tasting, mildly cooling natured.
Antirheumatic, relieves gastrointestinal disorders, aids circulation.
Juice from the bark reportedly irritating to the eyes, causing conjunctivitis.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Abelmoschus
Species: A. esculentus
