Many people like to eat okra, but they do not know what nutritional value okra has, and this article will tell you more about it.
First, let's analyze what nutrients okra has. Different varieties of okra seeds mainly contain crude fat, crude protein and polysaccharides, and the content of these three is balanced, among them, the average water value of young fruit pods of different varieties of okra is 90 grams per 100 grams, the average ash is 5 grams per 100 grams, the average of crude fat is 16.5 grams per 100 grams, the average value of crude protein is 24 grams per 100 grams, and the average of total sugars is 23 grams per 100 grams.
We evaluate that the nutritional value of a food is high, then its protein not only contains a complete variety of essential amino acids, but also the proportion between essential amino acids should be appropriate, and it is best to meet the needs of the human body, because this is the most complete absorption, and the nutritional value is also the highest. Studies [2] show that okra is rich in 17 kinds of amino acids, of which the essential amino acids are more tyrosine, leucine, and lysine, and the non-essential amino acids are more aspartic acid, glutamic acid and arginine, and the total amount of umami amino acids accounts for about 40% of the total amino acids, which is also the reason why okra tastes crisp and sweet.
Studies [2] have also shown that the total amount of essential amino acids contained in each 100 g of okra protein is equivalent to the standard value of 360 mg specified by fao/WHO (FAO/WHO), and that with the exception of the first restricted amino acids methionine and cystine and the second restricted amino acids threonine and leucine, the RAA and RC of other amino acids are close to or more than 1 (the closer the value of RAA to RC1, the closer the composition ratio of essential amino acids in food is to the recommended value, Where RAA refers to the content of an amino acid in the food / FAO / WHO model corresponding amino acid content, RC refers to a certain essential amino acid RAA / the average of various amino acid RAA).
Next, let's talk about what functional factors are contained in okra, which mainly include polysaccharides and flavonoids in young fruit pods and young fruit seeds. There is no obvious difference in the polysaccharide content between different varieties of okra, the amount of polysaccharides contained in the average 100 grams of okra fruit pods is about 3 grams, the amount of polysaccharides contained in the average 100 grams of okra fruit seeds is about 1.5 grams, compared with okra fruit pods, the polysaccharide content of okra fruit seeds is lower, which may be because the mucous substances formed by okra are rich in galactoglycans, arabinosaccharides, pectin and a small amount of glycoproteins, which are mainly concentrated in the tender fruit pods, so the total sugar content in okra fruit pods is very high. Experiments [1] also show this. The total flavonoid content in okra pods is about 2 grams per 100 grams, and the total flavonoids in okra seeds are also about 2 grams per 100 grams. In general, the young fruit pods of okra have a lot more active substances than the young fruit seeds of okra.
According to studies [1], the functional active substances polysaccharides and flavonoids in okra can play an anti-fatigue, improve immunity, assist in lowering blood lipids and antioxidants in a certain dose range, but this does not mean that eating okra can improve immunity and anti-aging. From the above data we can see that the content of these functional active substances contained in okra is very limited, and the amount of okra we usually eat is not much, far from reaching the dose of these effects, usually eat okra, as long as it is eaten as a vegetable, do not expect to rely on okra can cure diseases or longevity.
Studies [1] show that in the process of fruit development of okra, nutrients and functional components will also change, the pods of the old fruit, the polysaccharides in the seeds, the total flavonoid content are lower than the pods of the young fruit, the fruit seed content is lower, especially the polysaccharide content, the old fruit can only reach half of the young fruit, which may be because in the fruit growth process of okra, the fruit slowly ages, resulting in an increase in the cellulose content, while the content of protein, polysaccharides, flavonoids is reduced, so it is best to choose the tender one.
In general, okra seeds are rich in balanced fat, protein and total sugar, and the amino acids are rich in variety and proportion, which is a food with high nutritional value, and people can supplement nutrients when they eat it, but they cannot play a therapeutic effect.
This issue is written by Liao Yuying and Zhao Lichao
Editor: Peng Mingqian
bibliography:
Wang Fang,Wu Yue,Ma Lang,et al. Analysis and comparison of nutrient composition and active substance content of five okra species[J].Food Industry Science and Technology, 2017(10):314-317+336.
[2] Rui Hongfei, Zhou Liangbo, Fang Jianning, et al. Nutritional composition and evaluation of okra and okra[J].Acta Nutritional Science,2018(1).
The image originates from the Internet, if there is any infringement, please contact to delete