dilatation to a lesser extent in comparison with the diabetic group without supplementation (Makni et al. 2010).
Li et al. (2001) showed oil extracted from ungerminated pumpkin seeds possessed blood glucose-lowering activity and also resulted in improvements in blood
glucose tolerance. The proteins from germinated pumpkin seed resulted in increased
serum insulin and better blood glucose. However, the ungerminated seed protein did
not exhibit hypoglycemic activity.
19.8.2 In Cardiovascular Diseases
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders of the heart and blood
vessels, which include mainly the narrowing of the blood vessel due to plaque
deposition (atherosclerosis). Pumpkin seed oil (PSO) was administered to spontaneously hypertensive rats to study its hypotensive potential. In this study, PSO was
fed to rats (40 mg/kg body weight) alone or in combination with antihypertensive
drugs like calcium antagonist Felodipine (0.45 mg/kg body weight) or angiotensinconverting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, and captopril (9 mg/kg body weight) for
4 weeks. Pretreatment with PSO for 4 weeks prior to intravenous (IV) administration
of antihypertensive drugs resulted in the betterment of blood pressure and improvement in antioxidant activity in heart and kidney of spontaneously hypertensive rats
and thus, concluded that PSO-based formulations can be administered as an adjuvant
in the treatment of hypertension (Zuhair et al. 2000). In another study, the administration of flax and pumpkin seed mixture to rats fed with 1% cholesterol diet
showed a significant reduction in malondialdehyde concentration and improvement
in antioxidant defense mechanism with a considerable increase in the poly and
mono-unsaturated fatty acids. This signifies the anti-atherogenic activity of the flax
and pumpkin seed mixture (Makni et al. 2008).
Barakat and Mahmoud (2011) examined the effect of administration of diet
supplemented with either flax/pumpkin or purslane/pumpkin seed mixture (at a
ratio of 5:1) on increased blood lipid levels, kidney function, and as immunemodulators in rats fed with cholesterol-rich (2%) diets. Administration of flax/
pumpkin or purslane/pumpkin seed mixture prevented excess weight gain in hypercholesterolemic rats. Hypolipidemic and antiatherogenic effects, and weight loss
results were more prominent for purslane/pumpkin seed mixture. The diets with
added seed mixture implicated an increase in HDL cholesterol and a decrease in
LDL cholesterol. Atherogenic index was significantly reduced owing to a decrease
in LDL/HDL ratio. In a study conducted to demonstrate hypolipedimic and hypotensive activity of pumpkin seed oil (PSO) in non-ovariectomized and ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley rats, the rats fed with PSO had low levels of systolic and
diastolic blood pressure in both the groups. The lipid profile also improved with
supplementation of PSO which was deranged possibly due to inadequate estrogen
availability (Gossell-Williams et al. 2008).
486
S. Adsul and V. Madkaikar
Li et al. (2001) showed oil extracted from ungerminated pumpkin seeds possessed blood glucose-lowering activity and also resulted in improvements in blood
glucose tolerance. The proteins from germinated pumpkin seed resulted in increased
serum insulin and better blood glucose. However, the ungerminated seed protein did
not exhibit hypoglycemic activity.
19.8.2 In Cardiovascular Diseases
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders of the heart and blood
vessels, which include mainly the narrowing of the blood vessel due to plaque
deposition (atherosclerosis). Pumpkin seed oil (PSO) was administered to spontaneously hypertensive rats to study its hypotensive potential. In this study, PSO was
fed to rats (40 mg/kg body weight) alone or in combination with antihypertensive
drugs like calcium antagonist Felodipine (0.45 mg/kg body weight) or angiotensinconverting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, and captopril (9 mg/kg body weight) for
4 weeks. Pretreatment with PSO for 4 weeks prior to intravenous (IV) administration
of antihypertensive drugs resulted in the betterment of blood pressure and improvement in antioxidant activity in heart and kidney of spontaneously hypertensive rats
and thus, concluded that PSO-based formulations can be administered as an adjuvant
in the treatment of hypertension (Zuhair et al. 2000). In another study, the administration of flax and pumpkin seed mixture to rats fed with 1% cholesterol diet
showed a significant reduction in malondialdehyde concentration and improvement
in antioxidant defense mechanism with a considerable increase in the poly and
mono-unsaturated fatty acids. This signifies the anti-atherogenic activity of the flax
and pumpkin seed mixture (Makni et al. 2008).
Barakat and Mahmoud (2011) examined the effect of administration of diet
supplemented with either flax/pumpkin or purslane/pumpkin seed mixture (at a
ratio of 5:1) on increased blood lipid levels, kidney function, and as immunemodulators in rats fed with cholesterol-rich (2%) diets. Administration of flax/
pumpkin or purslane/pumpkin seed mixture prevented excess weight gain in hypercholesterolemic rats. Hypolipidemic and antiatherogenic effects, and weight loss
results were more prominent for purslane/pumpkin seed mixture. The diets with
added seed mixture implicated an increase in HDL cholesterol and a decrease in
LDL cholesterol. Atherogenic index was significantly reduced owing to a decrease
in LDL/HDL ratio. In a study conducted to demonstrate hypolipedimic and hypotensive activity of pumpkin seed oil (PSO) in non-ovariectomized and ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley rats, the rats fed with PSO had low levels of systolic and
diastolic blood pressure in both the groups. The lipid profile also improved with
supplementation of PSO which was deranged possibly due to inadequate estrogen
availability (Gossell-Williams et al. 2008).
486
S. Adsul and V. Madkaikar