Elwekeel Ahlam Hashem, Amin Elham, Sayed Ahmed M, Hassan Marwa H A
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University Beni-Suef 62514 Egypt
Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University Buraydah 51452 Saudi Arabia
RSC Adv. 2025 Jun 2;15(23):18292-18309. doi: 10.1039/d4ra08509d. eCollection 2025 May 29.
(L.) is an edible plant from the Malvaceae family known for its nutritional value. The phytochemical content and medicinal usefulness of the fruits of this plant have been extensively discussed, but the leaves have not been adequately investigated. The present research provides a comparative study of leaves and fruits in terms of phytochemical content and biological potential. Interestingly, the current findings highlight the higher contents of phenolics and flavonoids in the leaf extracts than in the fruit extracts. The results of GC-MS and LC-HRMS/MS analyses indicated the rich and diverse content of both organs. LC-HRMS/MS analysis allowed the annotation of seventy-four metabolites, with the leaf extract being richer (60 annotated metabolites) than the fruit extract (32 metabolites). Flavonoids, phenolics, and fatty acids were the most predominant classes of the detected metabolites. Remarkably, fatty acid derivatives, coumarins, iridoids, and lignans were reported for the first time in the genus . The investigation of the potential activities of the two organs concluded that the antioxidant activity of leaves (9.9 ± 0.71 mg AAE per g) is better than that of fruits (7.32 ± 0.91 mg AAE per g). Similarly, the IC values for the anti-enzymatic activity of the leaf extract (4.47 ± 0.1 mg mL, 3.54 ± 0.08 mg mL, 0.385 ± 0.019 μg mL, and 1.044 ± 0.05 mg mL against α-glucosidase, α-amylase, DPP-4, and lipase enzymes, respectively) were lower than those for the anti-enzymatic activity of the fruit extract (10.4 ± 0.2 mg mL, 6.53 ± 0.15 mg mL, 2.669 ± 0.132 μg mL, and 14.66 ± 0.67 mg mL, respectively). Additionally, the molecular docking simulation study concluded the distinct role of flavonoids in the observed bioactivities. In conclusion, leaves, which are considered agriculture waste, show richer metabolic content and more potent activities than the fruits. Therefore, okra leaves should be valued for these results.
（L.）是锦葵科的一种可食用植物，以其营养价值而闻名。该植物果实的植物化学成分和药用价值已得到广泛讨论，但叶子尚未得到充分研究。本研究对叶子和果实的植物化学成分和生物活性进行了比较研究。有趣的是，目前的研究结果表明，叶子提取物中的酚类和黄酮类化合物含量高于果实提取物。气相色谱 - 质谱联用（GC - MS）和液相色谱 - 高分辨质谱联用（LC - HRMS/MS）分析结果表明，这两个器官的成分丰富多样。LC - HRMS/MS分析鉴定出74种代谢物，叶子提取物中含有的代谢物更丰富（60种已鉴定代谢物），而果实提取物中含有32种代谢物。黄酮类、酚类和脂肪酸是检测到的最主要的代谢物类别。值得注意的是，脂肪酸衍生物、香豆素、环烯醚萜和木脂素在该属中首次被报道。对这两个器官潜在活性的研究得出结论，叶子的抗氧化活性（每克9.9±0.71毫克抗坏血酸当量）优于果实（每克7.32±0.91毫克抗坏血酸当量）。同样，叶子提取物对α - 葡萄糖苷酶、α - 淀粉酶、二肽基肽酶 - 4（DPP - 4）和脂肪酶的抗酶活性的半数抑制浓度（IC值）（分别为4.47±0.1毫克/毫升、3.54±0.08毫克/毫升、0.385±0.019微克/毫升和1.044±0.05毫克/毫升）低于果实提取物的抗酶活性IC值（分别为10.4±0.2毫克/毫升、6.53±0.15毫克/毫升、2.669±0.132微克/毫升和14.66±0.67毫克/毫升）。此外，分子对接模拟研究得出黄酮类化合物在观察到的生物活性中具有独特作用的结论。总之，被视为农业废弃物的秋葵叶子比果实显示出更丰富的代谢成分和更强的活性。因此，基于这些结果，秋葵叶子应受到重视。
