Nutraceutical characterization of okra genotypes

Okra (Abelmoscus esculentus L.) is an important vegetable crop in India with the highest production in the world. Gujarat produces 16 % okra of total Indian production. Morphological attributes like plant height, fruit length, fruit girth, fruit weight, fruit volume and fruit density was measured. Different nutraceutical molecules such as moisture, crude protein, true protein, total lipids, and free fatty acids were measured from okra seeds. Various phytochemicals viz., flavanoids, glycosides, terpenoids, tannins, alkaloids were qualitatively measured. Variation in total protein banding pattern by SDS PAGE was obtained between thirty genotypes. In the present research we have studied eight RAPD and fifteen SSR primers among thirty okra genotypes. The present study indicated a fairly high level of polymorphism with similarity coefficient ranging from 0.39 to 0.88 indicating a fairly wide and diverse genetic base. The genotype Red okra was differentiated among all okra genotypes.