Red jute / bush okra- nutrition, proven benefits, uses

bush okra


The scientific name of the red jute is Corchorus olitorius L.

Scientific names Common names
Corchorus catharticus Blanco Pasau (Tag., Sbl.)  
Corchorus decemangularis Roxb. Pasau-na-haba (Tag.) 
Corchorus lobatus Wildem. Pasaw-na-haba (Tag.) 
Corchorus olitorius Linn. Saluyut (Ilk.)
Corchorus quinquelocularis Moench Saluyot (Ilk.) 
Tagabang (Bis.)
Taka (Mag.)
Yaka (Mag.)
Bush okra (Engl.)
Jew’s mallow (Engl.)
Long-fruited jute (Engl.)
Red jute (Engl.)
Pasau is a shared common name of: 1. Pasau-na-bilog, saluyot (Corchorus capsularis)  2. Pasau-na-hapai (Jussiaea linifolis) and 3. Pasau. saluyot (Corchorus olitorius).
Saluyot is a local common name shared by . Pasau-na-bilog, saluyot (Corchorus capsularis) and Pasau. saluyot(Corchorus olitorius).
Other vernacular names
ARABIC: Lif khaysha, Mulûkhîyah (Egypt), Nalta, Nalita.
BENGALI: Deshi pat, Meetha pat, Tosha pat.
CHINESE: Chang shuo huang ma, Shan ma (Taiwan).
DANISH: Almindelig jute, Jute, Juteplante.
DUTCH: Jute, Juteplant.
ESTONIAN: Pikaviljaline Dzuut.
FRENCH: Chanvre du Bengale, Corète potagère, Corette potagère (Réunion), Lalo (Créole- Haiti), Lalou (Créole- Haiti), Mauve des Juifs, Mélochie.
GERMAN: Judenmalve, Langkapseljute, Langkapsel-Jute, Meluchie, Nalta-Jute.
GREEK: Korchoros, Korkoros.
HINDI: Janascha kashto,Jūtan, Mitha paat, Patsan, Paat, Patta, Tosha paat.
ITALIAN: Corcoro ortense, Corcoro siliquoso, Malva dei giardini, Spinaci degli Ebrei .
JAPANESE: Nagamitsunaso Taiwantsunaso Taiwan tsunaso.
PORTUGUESE: Juta, Juta-tossa.
RUSSIAN: Dzhut dlinnoplodnyi, Dzhut tossa, Krasnyj dzhut.
SPANISH: Yute, Yute de fruto alargado.
THAI: Fak yao, Krachao, Po krachao.
TURKISH: Kırmızı jüt, Muluhia.
VIETNAMESE: Rau đay.

General information 

Red jute is a genus plant of about 40-100 species in the family Malvaceae. Jute is confusingly applied to any plant of the genus Corchorus and to its fiber. The chief sources of the fiber are the two species of Corchorus plant: C olitorius and C capsularis. In the Philippines, three Corchorus species are recorded with medicinal uses: Pasau, Pasau na bilog, and pasau na hapa. Another pasau, Pasau-na-hapai, Jussiaea erecta belongs to the family Onagraceae.

Botany

Red jute is an erect, branched, smooth or nearly smooth, half-woody shrub, 1 to 1.5 meters high. Leaves are ovate-lanceolate, 5 to 12 centimeters long, pointed at the tip, blunt at the base, bearing a pair of taillike projections, and toothed at the margins. Flowers are axillary, solitary, yellow, and about 6 millimeters long. Capsules are elongated, cylindric, about 3 to 3.5 centimeters long, with 10 ribs, 3 to 6 valves, with transverse partitions between seeds. Seeds are dark, bluish green, angular, about 2 millimeters long, and very bitter.

Distribution

– In and near settlements, on rice-paddy banks, in fallow paddies, etc.
– Pantropic.

bush-okra

Constituents

• Japanese study isolated an acidic polysaccharide, Moroheiya.

• Leaf study has yielded anthocyanin.

• Leaf extracts yielded alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides. (19)

• Seed extract yielded alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, saponin, cardiac glycosides, anthraquinones, steroids, and volatile oil.

• Six phenolic antioxidative compounds were identified, the most dominant was 5-caffeoylquinic acid.

• 100 g of leaves yield

43-58 calories,

80.4-84.1 g H2O,

4.5-5.6 g protein,

0.3 g fat,

7.6-12.4 g total carbohydrate,

1.7-2.0 g fiber,

2.4 g ash,

266-366 mg Ca,

97-122 mg P,

7.2-7.7 mg Fe,

12 mg Na,

444 mg K,

6,410-7,850 µg beta-carotene,

0.13-0.15 mg thiamine,

0.26-0.53 mg riboflavin,

1.1-1.2 mg niacin, and

53-80 mg ascorbic acid. (see study)

• Leaves yield a significant amount of mucilaginous polysaccharide. (see study)

Properties

Considered demulcent, diuretic, febrifuge, purgative, tonic.

Parts used

Whole plant, especially the. seeds and leaves.

Uses
Edibility / Nutritional

– Growing wild, extensively eaten as a green vegetable in the Philippines, especially by the Ilokanos.

– Cooked, it is mucilaginous and slimy, with a good flavor.

– Dried leaves used as soup thickener and for tea.

– Shoots are an excellent source of iron, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin C.

– An excellent source of vitamins A and C, fiber and minerals. A good source of vitamin B.

– Contains high levels of all amino acids except methionine.

– In many part of the world, the plant has become a vegetable source. In Bengal, in spring, shoots are pulled from the fields and eaten with rice as a vegetable.

Folkloric traditional medicine remedies, benefits and uses of red jute

– Seeds are used as purgative.

– In India infusion of leaves used as tonic and febrifuge.

– Leaves are demulcent, tonic, and diuretic; used for chronic cystitis, gonorrhea, and dysuria.

-Cold infusion of leaves used as bitter tonic, used by patients recovering from dysentery, to restore the appetite and improve strength.

– Powdered seeds with honey and ginger for diarrhea.

– Grains of the powder mixed with equal amounts of Curcuma longa used for acute dysentery.

– Infusion of seeds for fever and liver congestion.

– Hindus reduce the plant to ashes, mix it with honey, and use it for obstruction of the abdominal viscera.

– In South India, the dried plant is used as demulcent. Powder of leaves, 5 – 10 grains, mixed with powdered tumeric in equal parts, used for dysentery.

– In India, the tribal people of Bolangir use the plant as remedy against threatened miscarriage: equal quantities of tender leaves of C. olitorius and Carica papaya are cooked to boiling point, cooled, then used one tumbler 3x daily. (see study)

Other uses

Jute: A source of commercial jute but not as abundant as that from Pasau-na-bilog (Corchorus capsularis)

Scientific studies about red jute health benefits and uses

Moroheiya / Acidic Polysaccharide:

Japanese study isolated an acidic polysaccharide, Moroheiya from dried leaf extract of CO which showed proliferative activity toward murine splenocyte.

Antibacterial / Seeds:

Study of methanol extracts of C olitorius seed and Cuscuta reflexa stem showed a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity.

Antibacterial / Leaves:

Study of leaf extract showed high potency against E coli supporting its use for gastroenteritis.

Anticonvulsant:

Study of the methanolic extracts of C reflexa stem and C olitorius seed showed marked protection against convulsions induced by chemoconvulsive agents in mice probably through alterations of the catecholamines and amino acids in mice brain.

Phenolic antioxidants:

Six phenolic antioxidative compounds were identified from the leaves of CO. Results showed that 5-caffeoylquinic acid was a predominant phenolic antioxidant in CO leaves.

Antinociceptive / Antiinflammatory / reduces pain, swelling or inflammation:

Extract study exhibited significant antinociceptive and antiinflammatory activities confirming its traditional claims in inflammatory and painful ailments.

Cardiotonic / Hypertensive:

The total alkaloid extract of C olitorius and the cardenolide mixture isolated from it showed cardiotonic, laxative, ecbolic and hypertensive properties.

Antiinflammatory / Antipyretic:

Study of an aqueous extract of C olitorius in rats showed significant anti-pyretic and anti-inflammatory activities supporting its folkloric use in the treatment of inflammation and fever.

Anti-Obesity / Polyphenolic Compounds:

Study demonstrated an anti-obesity effect of polyphenolic compounds from molokheiya leaves. The effect was associated with a reduction in oxidative stress and enhancement of B-oxidation in the liver. Results suggest the consumption of molokheiya leaves may be beneficial for preventing diet-induced obesity.

Arsenic-Induced Toxicity / Protective Effect:

Study showed a protective effect of the aqueous extract of C olitorius leaves against arsenic-induced brain toxicity in experimental animals. Prior treatment showed dose-dependent increase in antioxidant markers. Histopath exam of the brain tissue supported the protective activity.

Antibacterial / Antifungal / Leaves:

Study evaluated 3 extracts of leaves for antifungal and antibacterial activities. All three — petroleum ether, ethyl acetate — exhibited varies levels of antibacterial and antifungal activities.

Blood Chemistry Effects:

Study of aqueous extract of Corchorus olitorius showed both harmful and beneficial potentialities on the blood chemistry of male albino rats. Effect on human blood chemistry is unknown, but because of findings in the animal model, caution is recommended in its consumption by people with blood disorder.

Synergism and Antagonism with Antibiotics:

Study described the in-vitro interaction of an ethanol extract of leaf of Corchorus olitorius with five antibiotics on Methicillin sensitive and Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The extract synergized the antibacterial potential of ciprofloxacin and ampicillin/cloxacillin mixture and antagonized gentamycin, streptomycin, and erythromycin on S. aureus.

Antimicrobial:

Study evaluated alcoholic extracts of leaves, aerial parts, and roots in powder form against various gram negative and gram positive pathogenic bacteria. Results showed varying degrees of inhibition which was concentration dependent. There were also significant differences among the alcoholic extracts of leaves, aerial parts and roots on the growth of some types of bacteria at level (p<0.05).

Gastroprotective / Leaves:

Study evaluated the gastroprotective effect of an ethanolic leaf extract of C. olitorius against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in adult Sprague Dawley rats. Results showed a gastroprotective property comparable to reference control drug omeprazole.

Topical Application / Leaves / Atopic Dermatitis:

Study evaluated the effects of topical application of Corchorus olitorius leaf extract on atopic dermatitis in mice. Findings suggest CO has a therapeutic potential for AD due to its suppression of the plasma IgE level and degranulation of mast cells.

Wound Healing / Leaves:

Study evaluated a methanol extract of leaves of C. olitorius for antioxidant and wound healing activity. Results showed a high degree of antioxidant activity on FRAP and DPPH assays. Study also showed wound healing activity by excision model.

Anti-Diabetic / Seed:

Study evaluated an ethanolic seed extract of pulverized seeds for antidiabetic effect in alloxan induced diabetic albino rats. Results showed significant reduction of blood sugar, with reduction in glycosylated hemoglobin and increase in insulin level.

Induction of Apoptosis / Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma:

Study of an ethanolic leaf extract showed potential against hepatocellular carcinoma through induction of apoptosis viq mitochondria-dependent pathway.

Skin Hydrating Effect / Atopic Dermatitis / Leaves:

Study evaluated the hydration efficacy and skin barrier protection of C. olitorius extract in mice. Results suggest the COEW has the ability to maintain skin hydration, reduced transepidermal water loss, prevent disruption of skin barrier function, with potential as adjunct treatment for atopic dermatitis.

Deleterious Reproductive Effects:

Study evaluated the reproductive effects of aqueous extracts of C. olitorius on re reproductive parameters in male albino rats. Results showed deleterious effects on reproductive functions with a significant decrease in testosterone levels, sperm motility, sperm count, sperm viability, with an increase in percentage of abnormal cells.

Bio-Adsorbent:

Study evaluated the potential use of Corchorus olitorius L. Nano Carbon as adsorbent for removal of Rhodamine-B dye (dye contaminated waste water passed out from industries). Results suggest ACONC may be utilized as a low cost adsorbent for Rhodamine-B dye removal from aqueous solution.

Anti-Nutrients:

In a study of anti-nutrient composition of several plants, Corchorus olitorius yielded the highest level of phytate (0.06 ± 0.00%)—ideally, phytate should be 25 mg or less per 100 grams or about 0.03% of the phytate containing food. CO also showed the highest percentage concentration of tannin and the highest concentration of phenols.

Cytotoxicity and Genotoxicity on Human Multiple Myeloma Cells:

Study investigated the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of leaf and seed extracts on multiple myeloma-derived ARH-77 cells. Results showed high cytotoxic potential of the seed extract and genotoxic potential of both seed and leaf extracts.

Anticonvulsive / Brain Biogenic Amines / Seed:

Methanolic extract of both C. reflexa stem and Corchorus olitorius sed showed marked protection against convulsion induced by chemoconvulsive agents in mice. Results suggest significant increases in catecholamines and GABA systems, both considered to have significant roles with respect to CNS depressant and anticonvulsive properties of the processed extracts.

Availability

Wild-crafted.

Tablets, supplements in the market.

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