fatty acids, P < 0.05) and thus, PSC can be used to replace soyabean meal without
affecting milk yield.
19.11.4 To Enhance Nutritive Value of Poultry Feed
After oil extraction the remaining defatted pumpkin cake is mainly used as animal
feed though it has about 60% of protein and thus, holds great nutritional significance
(Peričin et al. 2009). Achilonu et al. (2017) observed that the inclusion of pumpkin
meals in poultry feeds have a promising impact on the general poultry performance,
enhanced feed conversion ratio, rate of growth, and egg production both in terms of
quality and quantity. Furthermore, it also helps to maintain balanced gut microflora
which positively affects the health of poultry. Hajati et al. (2011) studied the effect of
supplementation of corn-soybean meal-wheat based diet with pumpkin seed oil on
blood lipid profile and performance of broiler chicken. They concluded that supplementation resulted in the reduction in mortality rates of broiler chicken along with a
decrease in plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentration and without any
significant effect on the carcass composition of the abdominal fat pad at 49 days
of age. Machebe et al. (2013) studied the impact of feeding seeds and root extracts of
various plants to poultry birds. In this study, breeder turkey hens supplemented with
pumpkin seed supplement (PSS) showed a significant increase in the number of eggs
laid and fertile egg percentage. The study also demonstrated that PSS extracts due to
the phytochemical agents may protect turkey egg embryo to some extent during the
incubation period which was not seen in eggs of hens in the control group. Herkeľ
et al. (2014) observed that the supplementation of feed mixture with pumpkin oil
(3%) resulted in improvements in average weight of eggs and also showed better
laying tendency compared to the control group.
19.12 Future Challenges
There are ample opportunities and priorities for improving the quality of crops at the
farm level; including formulation of disease-resistant species, increasing seed production and also to yield more oil, and enhancing nutritional quality of seeds
specifically the tocopherol content. Also there is a scope for growing the pumpkins
in an organic way which may have higher nutritional properties for health benefits.
Various studies have revealed that the method of oil extraction and processing
influences the therapeutic and sensory attributes of the pumpkin seed oil, so there
is scope for finding the best method of oil extraction and processing treatments
required for improving the therapeutic characteristics of the oil besides having better
sensory acceptance.
Numerous data is available on the health benefits of pumpkin seeds in the
prevention and treatment of different disorders. Still the data is limited in view
19 Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) Seed
499
affecting milk yield.
19.11.4 To Enhance Nutritive Value of Poultry Feed
After oil extraction the remaining defatted pumpkin cake is mainly used as animal
feed though it has about 60% of protein and thus, holds great nutritional significance
(Peričin et al. 2009). Achilonu et al. (2017) observed that the inclusion of pumpkin
meals in poultry feeds have a promising impact on the general poultry performance,
enhanced feed conversion ratio, rate of growth, and egg production both in terms of
quality and quantity. Furthermore, it also helps to maintain balanced gut microflora
which positively affects the health of poultry. Hajati et al. (2011) studied the effect of
supplementation of corn-soybean meal-wheat based diet with pumpkin seed oil on
blood lipid profile and performance of broiler chicken. They concluded that supplementation resulted in the reduction in mortality rates of broiler chicken along with a
decrease in plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentration and without any
significant effect on the carcass composition of the abdominal fat pad at 49 days
of age. Machebe et al. (2013) studied the impact of feeding seeds and root extracts of
various plants to poultry birds. In this study, breeder turkey hens supplemented with
pumpkin seed supplement (PSS) showed a significant increase in the number of eggs
laid and fertile egg percentage. The study also demonstrated that PSS extracts due to
the phytochemical agents may protect turkey egg embryo to some extent during the
incubation period which was not seen in eggs of hens in the control group. Herkeľ
et al. (2014) observed that the supplementation of feed mixture with pumpkin oil
(3%) resulted in improvements in average weight of eggs and also showed better
laying tendency compared to the control group.
19.12 Future Challenges
There are ample opportunities and priorities for improving the quality of crops at the
farm level; including formulation of disease-resistant species, increasing seed production and also to yield more oil, and enhancing nutritional quality of seeds
specifically the tocopherol content. Also there is a scope for growing the pumpkins
in an organic way which may have higher nutritional properties for health benefits.
Various studies have revealed that the method of oil extraction and processing
influences the therapeutic and sensory attributes of the pumpkin seed oil, so there
is scope for finding the best method of oil extraction and processing treatments
required for improving the therapeutic characteristics of the oil besides having better
sensory acceptance.
Numerous data is available on the health benefits of pumpkin seeds in the
prevention and treatment of different disorders. Still the data is limited in view
19 Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) Seed
499