Who are those who enjoy eating okra? Some might call them ladyfingers – not the ones you’d dip in espresso for your tiramisu – and others might call them “bhindi”. Some might consume it rationalizing it as healthy, but those who might enjoy this slimy vegetable? What does their life look like? Do they put on their pants one leg at a time like the rest of us? Do they live parallel lives?
Unfortunately for these okra lovers, a lot of okra might not be available for consumption. Because if studies are true, okra might be one of two things that could remove microplastics from water. Maybe, people know it unconsciously or just stopped caring altogether, but the water we consume is really sick.
Sure, if you’re lucky, you get to consume water that’s cold, clear and refreshing. We can’t sense it, but microplastics – these invisible threads of plastic fragments – are super super small yet dangerous enough to threaten our health, our food chain and maybe, even future generations. Try extolling the virtues of having microplastics in your body and you’d epicly fail. Just imagine how it might degrade your body or be bad for you.
Unfortunately, these microplastics are said to be prevalent in oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, bottled water and other water sources. There are probably tons of microplastics in your body right now, assuming you’ve drunk a glass of water today. Sure, you might be excoriated for drinking very little water sometimes, but, hey, maybe it beats having microplastics coursing through your veins.
So, who would have thought the slimy green vegetable, the one disliked by lots of people, could emerge as your saviour? Ad nauseam, you might have heard about its health benefits to make you consume okra – the vegetable pushed to the periphery of your plate – but here’s a way for okra to be useful without having to cook or eat it. And another unlikely hero might be found on your spice rack: fenugreek, also known as “methi”.
The goo of okra – which some might find to be a turnoff – might be the very thing that could make it redemptive. It’s a sticky and slippery gel and when put in water, it might be able to grab hold of microplastics, the way a magnet might pick up iron shavings. What vivid imagery.
And have you been one of the fortunate few who’s been told by an elder to soak fenugreek seeds in water overnight? Doing that is said to release an extract that, in some ways, might be related to okra’s goo. Okra’s goo. Sounds like an indie US band that releases one hit song and is, then, forever forgotten.
If scientists conducting this research are to be believed, then, these two substances might dramatically outperform synthetic chemicals designed to filter out microplastics from water, maybe around 70% of them, when averaged. That’s like finding a natural soap to substitute harsh and chemically-laden detergents.
It’s said that the okra and fenugreek are separately soaked, the two sets of water resplendent with the extract are dried, made into powders and mixed into vessels of water containing microplastics. In, maybe, an hour or so, the powders make the microplastics clump together and sink to the bottom, kind of like Jack at the end of Titanic.
So, how much okra and methi could clean up the world’s water? Would agriculturalists be willing to grow both plants at scale? Interestingly, could okra pods or old methi be used to do this instead of being deemed waste? What a feel-good idea: food scraps and plants being used to solve problems the high-tech world of 2025 and beyond might still be struggling with.
Envision the future headline: nature’s stickiness is the cleanest and healthiest way out. Insert your own joke here.
India’s said to be the world’s biggest producer of okra, accounting for about 25% of global production. So, maybe this isn’t some niche crop to grow, it’s already embedded in India’s farming history. So, this might not require some expensive import or a new supply chain at first. Does India have agro-extract startups to focus on this? Is it time to build some? Imagine if India redefines what it takes to be a superpower: cure the world of microplastics.
Of course, for this to be effective, the microplastic load in water sources in India have to be measured. Is this feasible in India? Is it already in place? Can this be quantified? And maybe, we’re calling it powdered okra, but at its core, this is being extracted, which might be a more complicated and cumbersome process. That means more tech advancements needed to make this a success.
Plus, once all the microplastics become sludge, are there ways to separate the clean water from the waste at the bottom? What would it take to collect, transport and dispose of those microplastics? Where would it even be disposed of? Would it go… back to the environment into the soil again?
Are you ready for okra’s mucilage to mutilate microplastics? Methi force be with you.
