The Profile of Secondary Metabolites and Other Bioactive Compounds in Cucurbita pepo L. and Cucurbita moschata Pumpkin Cultivars.
Kulczyński B, Gramza-Michałowska A.
Molecules. 2019 Aug 14;24(16). pii: E2945. doi: 10.3390/molecules24162945.

Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) against Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin B1 induced lung cyto-morphological damage in rats.
Saddiq AAN, Awedh MH.
Pak J Pharm Sci. 2019 Mar;32(2):575-579.

Evaluation of phytochemicals, antioxidant and burn wound healing activities of Cucurbita moschata Duchesne fruit peel.
Bahramsoltani R, Farzaei MH, Abdolghaffari AH, Rahimi R, Samadi N, Heidari M, Esfandyari M, Baeeri M, Hassanzadeh G, Abdollahi M, Soltani S, Pourvaziri A, Amin G.
Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2017 Jul;20(7):798-805. doi: 10.22038/IJBMS.2017.9015.

Enhancement of Lipid Metabolism and Hepatic Stability in Fat-Induced Obese Mice by Fermented Cucurbita moschata Extract.
Hossain MA, Lee SJ, Park NH, Birhanu BT, Mechesso AF, Park JY, Park EJ, Lee SP, Youn SJ, Park SC.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018 Mar 13;2018:3908453. doi: 10.1155/2018/3908453.

A Carotenoid Extract from a Southern Italian Cultivar of Pumpkin Triggers Nonprotective Autophagy in Malignant Cells.
Russo M, Moccia S, Bilotto S, Spagnuolo C, Durante M, Lenucci MS, Mita G, Volpe MG, Aquino RP, Russo GL.
Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017;2017:7468538. doi: 10.1155/2017/7468538.

Evaluation of three pumpkin species: correlation with physicochemical, antioxidant properties and classification using SPME-GC-MS and E-nose methods.
Zhou CL, Mi L, Hu XY, Zhu BH.
J Food Sci Technol. 2017 Sep;54(10):3118-3131. doi: 10.1007/s13197-017-2748-8.

Amino acid profiling and antimicrobial activity of Cucurbita moschata and Lagenaria siceraria seed protein hydrolysates.
Dash P, Ghosh G.
Nat Prod Res. 2018 Sep;32(17):2050-2053. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2017.1359174.

Cucurbita moschata Duch. and its active component, β-carotene effectively promote the immune responses through the activation of splenocytes and macrophages.
Kim HY, Nam SY, Yang SY, Kim HM, Jeong HJ.
Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 2016 Oct;38(5):319-26. doi: 10.1080/08923973.2016.1202960.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and kabocha squash (Cucurbita moschata Duch).
Nanasato Y, Tabei Y.
Methods Mol Biol. 2015;1223:299-310. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1695-5_24.

Contents of carotenoids in the pumpkin (1):

• Lutein: 49%
• Neoxanthin and Violaxanthin: 30%
• Beta carotene: 21%
• Zeaxanthine: 0%
• Cryptoxanthine: 0%
• Lycopene: 0%
• Alpha carotene: 0%

Unrefined pumpkin seed oil is high in unsaturated fatty acids (about 80%) and is known to contain large amounts of phytochemicals. In short-term studies, pumpkin seed oil has been shown to reduce markers of liver health and improve dyslipidaemia. It consists of several glycerides of oleic, stearic, linoleic, palmitic, etc. acids in these percentages (2):

• Polyunsaturated fatty acids composition 64% of total:
• Linoleic acid 63.9%
• Linoleic alpha acid 0.1%
• Composition of monounsaturated fatty acids 17.8% of total
• Oleic acid 17.1%
• Composition of saturated fatty acids 18%
• Palmitic acid 12.8%
• Stearic Acid 4.5%
• Arachnid Acid - Eicosanoic 0.3%

Phytochemicals

• Vanillic acid nm 300
• Tocopherols ppm 577
• Vitamin K mg / 100g 68.0
• total phenolic content in mg gallic acid / kg of oil 27.7
• Feromonic acid isomer (nm) 100
• Naringenine isomer (nm) 2100
• Isomer of 4-hydroxyphenylpropionic (nm) 700

References_______________________________

(1) Fruits and vegetables that are sources of lutein and zeaxanthin: the macular pigment in human eyes.
Olaf Sommerburg, Jan E Keunen, Alan C Bird, Frederik J G M van Kuijk

(2) Replacement of Dietary Saturated Fat by PUFA Rich Pumpkin Seed Oil Attenuates Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Atherosclerosis Development, with Additional Health Effects of Virgin over Refined Oil.
Morrison MC, Mulder P, Stavro PM, Suárez M, Arola-Arnal A, van Duyvenvoorde W, Kooistra T, Wielinga PY, Kleemann R.
PLoS One. 2015 Sep

Cucurbita moschata Duch is a vegetable widely cultivated and cultivated all over the world and belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family.

Cucurbita genus is composed of five major species comprising the majority of pumpkin and squashes –Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita moschata, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita argyrosperma and Cucurbita ficifolia. Pumpkin species

Chemical composition

The fruit flesh is rich in carotenoids, tocopherols, polysaccharides, carbohydrates and minerals which endow pumpkin with medical functions including antidiabetic, antihypertensive, antitumor, antioxidant, immunomodulation, antibacterial, antihypercholesterolemia, intestinal antiparasitia, anti-inflammation and antalgic activities (1).

The seed contains fatty acids (≤64% linoleic acid), specific delta-7-sterols, tocopherols and micronutrients (2).

Potential health benefits

The oral administration of high doses of pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil reduced prostate weight in experimental animal models of prostate growth (3).

Pumpkin seed oil is considered a preventive agent for various pathologies, particularly prostate diseases. These properties are related to its high content of carotenoids and liposoluble vitamins. In this study the carotenoid (lutein and zeaxanthin), vitamin E (α- and γ-tocopherol) and fatty acid contents (4).

Pumpkin studies

References____________________________________________________________________

(1)  A review on pharmacological activities and utilization technologies of pumpkin.
Caili F, Huan S, Quanhong L
Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2006 Jun; 61(2):73-80.

(2) Strobl M, Patz B, Bracher F: Kürbissamen bei Störungen der Blasenfunktion. DAZ 2004;144:4010-4014.

(3) Effects of pumpkin seed in men with lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia in the one-year, randomized, placebo-controlled GRANU study.
Vahlensieck W, Theurer C, Pfitzer E, Patz B, Banik N, Engelmann U.
Urol Int. 2015;94(3):286-95. doi: 10.1159/000362903. Epub 2014 Sep 5.

Gossell-Williams M, Davis A, O'Connor N: Inhibition of testosterone-induced hyperplasia of the prostate of Sprague-Dawley rats by pumpkin seed oil. J Med Food 2006;9:284-286.

Kim SH, Jung KI, Koh JS, Min KO, Cho SY, Kim HW: Lower urinary tract symptoms in benign prostatic hyperplasia patients: orchestrated by chronic prostatic inflammation and prostatic calculi? Urol Int 2013;90:144-149.

(4) Chemical composition and functional characterisation of commercial pumpkin seed oil.
Procida G, Stancher B, Cateni F, Zacchigna M.
J Sci Food Agric. 2013 Mar 30;93(5):1035-41. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.5843.