19.8.10 Anti-Inflammatory Activity
Fahim (1995) carried out an investigation to study the efficacy of pumpkin seed oil
(PSO) against inflammation. Freund’s complete adjuvant was used to induce arthritis
in rats and indomethacin, a classic anti-inflammatory drug, was used as control. The
study was conducted in two phases: acute and chronic, wherein PSO was used to
treat acute and PSO along with indomethacin in chronic phase treatment. The
supplementation of PSO had promising effects in reducing the arthritic symptoms,
especially during the chronic phase with significant inhibition of paw edema. The
treatment with control showed similar results; however, it resulted in increased lipid
peroxide levels.
Wound healing performance of the topical application of pumpkin seed oil was
experimented in uniform wound-induced 18 adult Wistar male rats divided into three
groups namely the control group topically treated with saline solution, treated with
reference drug (0.13 mg/mm
2 ), and target group treated with 0.52 μL/mm
2 of
pumpkin seed oil which was applied every 2 days till the control group showed
complete healing. The results demonstrated the enhanced cutaneous wound healing
in the target group than in the control group. The topical application of cold-pressed
pumpkin seeds oil provided a connective tissue matrix which assists migration of the
fibroblasts during re-epithelialization process and healthy structure of collagen fibers
and absence of inflammatory cells. This therapeutic potential of pumpkin seed oil
could be related to the presence of substantial amounts of inflammatory mediators
such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, an antioxidant vitamin E, and phytonutrient
β-sitosterol which has strong angiogenic activity, and also promotes fibroblasts
multiplication (Bardaa et al. 2016).
19.8.11 Antimicrobial Activity
Antimicrobial assay of pumpkin seed oil was carried out against the pathogenic
bacteria Staphylococcus aureus by the disk diffusion technique. The authors
observed strong antimicrobial activity of pumpkin seed extract against pathogenic
gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus with an average inhibition zone of
15.33 Æ 1.52 mm (Rabia et al. 2014; Chonoko and Rufai 2011). Bardaa et al.
(2016) reported antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis and also highlighted
the efficacy of oil against gram-positive than gram-negative species of bacteria.
Pumpkin seeds can be used to treat parasitic infections like acute schistosomiasis and
tapeworm infection and this antiparasitic activity could be attributed to cucurbitacins
in pumpkin seeds (Younis et al. 2000; Patel 2013). Sood et al. (2012) studied
antifungal activities of Cucurbita pepo and noticed that it has high potency against
Fusarium oxysporium and Trichoderma reesei.
492
S. Adsul and V. Madkaikar
Fahim (1995) carried out an investigation to study the efficacy of pumpkin seed oil
(PSO) against inflammation. Freund’s complete adjuvant was used to induce arthritis
in rats and indomethacin, a classic anti-inflammatory drug, was used as control. The
study was conducted in two phases: acute and chronic, wherein PSO was used to
treat acute and PSO along with indomethacin in chronic phase treatment. The
supplementation of PSO had promising effects in reducing the arthritic symptoms,
especially during the chronic phase with significant inhibition of paw edema. The
treatment with control showed similar results; however, it resulted in increased lipid
peroxide levels.
Wound healing performance of the topical application of pumpkin seed oil was
experimented in uniform wound-induced 18 adult Wistar male rats divided into three
groups namely the control group topically treated with saline solution, treated with
reference drug (0.13 mg/mm
2 ), and target group treated with 0.52 μL/mm
2 of
pumpkin seed oil which was applied every 2 days till the control group showed
complete healing. The results demonstrated the enhanced cutaneous wound healing
in the target group than in the control group. The topical application of cold-pressed
pumpkin seeds oil provided a connective tissue matrix which assists migration of the
fibroblasts during re-epithelialization process and healthy structure of collagen fibers
and absence of inflammatory cells. This therapeutic potential of pumpkin seed oil
could be related to the presence of substantial amounts of inflammatory mediators
such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, an antioxidant vitamin E, and phytonutrient
β-sitosterol which has strong angiogenic activity, and also promotes fibroblasts
multiplication (Bardaa et al. 2016).
19.8.11 Antimicrobial Activity
Antimicrobial assay of pumpkin seed oil was carried out against the pathogenic
bacteria Staphylococcus aureus by the disk diffusion technique. The authors
observed strong antimicrobial activity of pumpkin seed extract against pathogenic
gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus with an average inhibition zone of
15.33 Æ 1.52 mm (Rabia et al. 2014; Chonoko and Rufai 2011). Bardaa et al.
(2016) reported antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis and also highlighted
the efficacy of oil against gram-positive than gram-negative species of bacteria.
Pumpkin seeds can be used to treat parasitic infections like acute schistosomiasis and
tapeworm infection and this antiparasitic activity could be attributed to cucurbitacins
in pumpkin seeds (Younis et al. 2000; Patel 2013). Sood et al. (2012) studied
antifungal activities of Cucurbita pepo and noticed that it has high potency against
Fusarium oxysporium and Trichoderma reesei.
492
S. Adsul and V. Madkaikar