Combination of Red Okra and Stevia Ameliorates Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Secondhand Smoke Rats

Individuals exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) are at risk of experiencing oxidative stress and inflammation. Red okra and stevia have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This research aimed to validate the effectiveness of red okra and stevia in improving oxidative stress and inflammation in SHS rats. A posttest-only control group design was used, where 25 Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups including (1) Normal control, (2) SHS group, (3) Red okra group given red okra powder at a dose of 60 mg/200 g BW, (4) Stevia group given stevia powder at a dose of 100 mg/200 g BW, and (5) Kravia group administered with a combination of 60 mg/200 g BW red okra powder and 100 mg/200 g BW stevia powder. All rats, except normal control, were exposed to smoke from 4 cigarettes/day, 5 times/week, for 1 month. Furthermore, oxidative stress parameters measured were glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, vitamin C, and malondialdehyde (MDA). Inflammation markers were interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), nuclear factor (NF-κβ), NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3), α-klotho, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Collected data were analyzed using the One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), followed by a post hoc test (p<0.05). Results showed that the combination of red okra and stevia significantly enhanced the levels of GPx, SOD, catalase, vitamin C, MDA, IL-6, TNF-α, NF-κβ, NLRP3, α-klotho, and IGF-1 (p<0.05) compared to SHS, red okra, and stevia groups. This combination was effective in improving oxidative stress and inflammation in SHS.