Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of okra capsule for IgA nephropathy. Methods All randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials (RCTs or quasi-RCTs) of okra capsule for IgA nephropathy were collected from CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMbase, PubMed, WanFang Data, CNKI and CBM. Two reviewers independently screened the included studies, extracted the data, assessed the quality, and cross-checked then. Then RevMan 5.07 software was used for meta-analysis. Results Five RCTs were included. The results of meta-analyses showed that: compared with the control group, okra capsule was more effective in decreasing urinary protein (P≥0.05), but had no significant difference in improving renal function, reducing urine red blood cells and blood lipid (Plt;0.05). No research reported the adverse effects of okra capsule. Conclusion Current evidence reveals that okra capsule can reduce urinary protein and improving therapeutic effect for IgA nephropathy. However, further studies are needed to test its safety. Because of the small sample size and low methodological quality of the included studies, these results require more high-quality RCTs for further verification.
