**1. Introduction**

The word *Abelmoschus* has meaningful etymology Arabic language "Abual-misk", means "Father of Musk and Kaab-el-misk means source of musk in reference with its musky odor of seeds [1, 2]. Genus is native to Africa, South and South East Asia and distributed throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world with center of diversity at South Asia and South-West Pacific region [3–5]. Indian subcontinent has been considered as the center of diversity of the genus *Abelmoschus* due to the presence of wide morphological diversity. In India *Abelmoschus* species are found in the dense evergreen forests to open wastelands as well as cultivated in gardens and commercial farm. In addition, *Abelmoschus* species are also distributed in various regions from a range of Himalayan Mountain [6] to the Southern Peninsular India [7, 8]. About 11 species, 3 sub-species and

4 varieties of *Abelmoschus* are known in India [8]. Due to potential nutritional importance okra gain attention to improve nutrition and health status of mankind. Sabitha et al. demonstrated anti-diabetic activity through *in vitro* α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzyme inhibitory effect of aqueous extract of the okra peel and seeds and concluded that the consumption of okra may help to maintain blood sugar [9]. Due to widely use in the arena of food and medicine, the area under cultivation of *Abelmoschus* has progressively increased during last few years [10]. Besides that, *Abelmoschus* species are used for various other purposes like fiber yielding, paper making, waste water treatment, substitute for jute and used in the textile industries [11]. It is the rich reservoir of essential micronutrients for food fortification process e.g.; bread fortification. In this chapter, we have interpreted phyto-constituents from *Abelmoschus* species and their potential roles in human diet and pharmaceutical applications. Along with that we are also focused on qualitative and quantitative assessment of mucilage and its application in various fields. Further chapter revealed genetic diversity, plant breeding and mutation studies of various species of *Abelmoschus*.
