L'Ibiscus o Ibisco o Gombo o Okra (Hibiscus Esculentus) appartiene alla famiglia delle Malvaceae ed è una pianta sempreverde che viene usata come siepe o come pianta singola sia all'aperto in piena terra, che in casa e in vaso. 

L'Ibisco  è una grande fonte di vitamine C e K, folati e magnesio. Contiene anche antiossidanti che aiutano a proteggere il corpo contro i radicali liberi.

L'alto contenuto di fibre alimentari nell'ibisco aiuta nella digestione e mantiene un intestino sano. Queste fibre possono anche aiutare a regolare i livelli di zucchero nel sangue.

L'Ibisco è a basso contenuto calorico e ricco di fibre, il che è benefico per la salute del cuore. Le fibre aiutano a ridurre i livelli di colesterolo, e la pianta contiene potassio, importante per mantenere una pressione sanguigna sana.

Preoccupazioni Associate all'Ibisco

Ossalati. L'Ibisco è ricco di ossalati, che possono essere una preoccupazione per le persone inclini ai calcoli renali. Consumare gombo può contribuire alla formazione di questi calcoli in individui suscettibili.

FODMAPs. L'Ibisco contiene fruttani, un tipo di FODMAP, che possono causare disagio digestivo nelle persone con sindrome dell'intestino irritabile (IBS).

Contenuto di Vitamina K. Ricco di vitamina K, l'Ibisco potrebbe interagire con i farmaci anticoagulanti come il warfarin. I pazienti che assumono tali farmaci dovrebbero monitorare l'assunzione di gombo per prevenire eventuali effetti

Studi

Dalla specie Hybiscus syriacus sono stati isolati alcuni componenti interessanti per la salute umana, tra i quali : vitexin, isovitexin, quercetina, kaempferol e rutina (1) ed anche molecole tra le quali fitosteroli, composti fenolici e flavonoidi tutti con proprietà antiossidanti e con capacità di migliorare il profilo glicemico (2). Un'altra applicazione interessante riguarda la capacità dell'estratto di Ibisco di curare la ragade anale (3).

L'azione preventiva dell'estratto etanolico di okra contro il danno epatico è stata valutata nei roditori in questo complesso studio che ha rilevato una significativa epatoprotezione dose-dipendente. Le attività epatoprotettive e antiossidanti dell'estratto sono paragonabili alla silimarina standard. Questi risultati sono stati supportati dalla valutazione istologica della biopsia epatica. La capacità dell'estratto di okra di proteggere i danni al fegato indotti chimicamente può essere attribuita alla sua potente proprietà antiossidante (4).

Cosmetica

In cosmetica viene inserito in formula per le sue proprietà ammorbidenti sulla pelle.

Coltivazione

Se coltivata in casa, occorre posizionarla in un luogo molto luminoso. Resiste bene a condizioni climatiche avverse ma ha bisogno di essere concimato sovente. Fiorisce tra la primavera e l'estate.

Bibliografia_____________________________________________________________________

(1) Wei Q, Ji XY, Xu F, Li QR, Yin H. Chemical Constituents from Leaves of Hibiscus syriacus and Their α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activities. Zhong Yao Cai. 2015 May;38(5):975-9. 

Abstract. Objective: To study the chemical constituents from Hibiscus syriacus leaves and their α-glucosidase inhibitory activities....Conclusion: All the compounds are isolated from the leaves of Hibiscus syriacus for the first time. Taking acarbose as positive control, the α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of 15 compounds were evaluated. Compounds 7 and 9 have shown strong α-glucosidase inhibitory activities with IC50 of 39.03 ± 0.38 and 32.12 ± 0.62 mg/L, inhibition ratio of 94.95% and 97.15%, respectively.

 (2) Akbari F, Shahinfard N, Mirhoseini M, Shirzad H, Heidarian E, Hajian S, Rafieian-Kopaei M. Impacts of Hibiscus esculentus extract on glucose and lipid profile of diabetic rats. J Nephropharmacol. 2015 May 19;5(2):80-85.

Abstract. Introduction:Hibiscus esculentus is capable to produce various molecules including phenolic and flavonoid compounds, phytosteroids with antioxidant property. Therefore, it has the potential to show antidiabetic activities. Objectives: This study was aimed to evaluate the impacts of Hibiscus esculentus extract on glucose and lipid profile of diabetic rats. The flavonoid, flavonol and phenolic components, as well as antioxidant activity of Hibiscus esculentus was also evaluated. Materials and Methods: In a preclinical study, 40 male Wistar rats were designated into four 10-member groups, i.e., control, diabetic control, diabetic Hibiscus esculentus, and diabetic glibenclamide. The Alloxan-induced diabetic rats received extracts orally for four weeks. Then, the serum biochemical factors were measured and compared by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Serum glucose, triglyceride (TG), cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were significantly decreased and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) increased in diabetic Hibiscus esculentus rats compared to diabetic control ones (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Improving the blood glucose and lipid profile in diabetic rats indicates that Hibiscus esculentus extract might be beneficial in diabetic patients.

(3) Martellucci J, Rossi G, Corsale I, Carrieri P, D'Elia M, Giani I. Myoxinol ointment for the treatment of acute fissure. Updates Surg. 2017 Dec;69(4):499-503. doi: 10.1007/s13304-017-0450-z. 

Abstract. Myoxinol is a complex of oligopeptides obtained from the seeds of Hibiscus esculentus used in cosmetic as natural alternative to botulin toxin. The aim of the study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of local myoxinol for the treatment of acute anal fissure. All the consecutive patients with acute fissure treated from January to June 2014 underwent 30 days of topical treatment (twice/day) with a mioxinol based ointment. Pain, symptomatic relief, fissure healing and re-epithelization, 1-year recurrence rate, subjective satisfaction and need for further treatments were evaluated. During the study period 157 patients were eligible for data analysis (91 males: 58%; mean age 38 years: range 17-83). Median anal pain score was 7.1 pre-treatment and 1.7 and 0.9 after 30 days and 12 months from treatment, respectively (p: 0.0001). After the treatment period complete healing was achieved in 103 patients (65.5%), relevant improvement in 31 (20%) and no improvement in 21 patients (13.5%). Overall efficacy rate was 85.5%. A significant difference was reported considering patients with pre-treatment VAS between 1-5 and 6-10 (p: 0.004). Twenty-nine patients (18.5%) required further treatments. Hydrolyzed Hibiscus esculentus extract was proven to be an effective and well-tolerated topical treatment for acute fissure, with a high healing rate, a significant reduction of pain and a low 1-year recurrence rate.

(4) Alqasoumi SI. 'Okra' Hibiscus esculentus L.: A study of its hepatoprotective activity. Saudi Pharm J. 2012 Apr;20(2):135-41. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2011.10.002.

Abstract. In the present study, an attempt has been made to validate the claimed uses of 'Okra' Hibiscus esculentus in liver diseases. The preventive action of ethanolic extract of okra (EEO) against liver injury was evaluated in rodents using carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity model. EEO, at 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight, exerted significant dose-dependent hepatoprotection by decreasing the CCl4-induced elevation of serum SGOT, SGPT, ALP, GGT, cholesterol, triglycerides and malondialdehyde (MDA) non-protein sulfhydryls (NP-SH) and total protein (TP) levels in the liver tissue. A significant reduction was also observed in pentobarbital-induced sleeping time in mice. The hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of the extract are being comparable to standard silymarin. These findings were supported by histological assessment of the liver biopsy. The ability of okra extract to protect chemically induced liver damage may be attributed to its potent antioxidant property.