The health benefits of pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin has been grown in China for a long time and there are many documented uses for pumpkin seeds. In addition, the development of pumpkin seeds should not be limited to the seed oil, but also to the development of other pumpkin seed products. Here we present the health benefits of pumpkin seed protein.

Here is the content list:

l Anthelmintic effect

l Relief of high blood pressure

l Anti-inflammatory effects

l Hypoglycaemic effect

l Other effects

Anthelmintic effect

Pumpkin seeds have been recognized as an effective insect repellent in both ancient and modern times. The active ingredient is pumpkin seed protein, which can repel a variety of parasites such as tapeworms, pinworms, and roundworms, making it a "refreshing" anthelmintic. Pumpkin seed protein is also effective in inhibiting the growth and development of schistosome larvae and can be used to prevent and treat schistosomes.

Relief of high blood pressure

Experiments have shown that pumpkin seed protein and other drugs are given to mice with spontaneous hypertension, the results show that pumpkin seed protein can improve the content of free radical scavengers in mice. This suggests that pumpkin seed protein is effective in relieving hypertension.

Anti-inflammatory effects

Freund's complete adjuvant-induced arthritis in mice given pumpkin seed protein enriched with an antioxidant component showed that pumpkin seed protein was as effective as a classical anti-inflammatory agent. Most of the parameters that are altered by inflammation, such as plasma levels and activity of various enzymes and liver glutathione and lipid peroxide levels, are regulated, especially in the chronic inflammatory phase. Significant suppression of rat paw edema was observed in the trial. This feature has also been confirmed in clinical studies in humans.

Hypoglycaemic effect

Li Quanhong et al. observed the hypoglycaemic effect of six groups of pumpkin extracts, including pumpkin seed protein fractions with molecular weights greater than 60ku and pumpkin seed protein fractions with molecular weights between 3 and 60ku, on diabetic rats after germination for 10 d. The results showed that pumpkin seed protein fractions with molecular weights between 3 and 6ku had the best hypoglycaemic effect, not only significantly reducing fasting blood glucose values in diabetic rats, but also improving sugar levels. The results showed that the hypoglycaemic effect of pumpkin seed protein fraction of 3-6ku was the best, not only could it significantly reduce the fasting blood glucose value of diabetic rats, but also could improve the sugar content.

Other effects

Pharmacological studies have shown that pumpkin seed protein reduces LDL cholesterol levels, is anti-inflammatory, relieves hypertension, reduces bladder muscle and urinary tract irritation and prevents the formation of urinary tract stones. Extracts of pumpkin seeds can also combat allergic diseases and treat adolescent acne and seborrhea.

With regard to the development of pumpkin products, the current characteristics are: pumpkin flesh has been developed more, pumpkin seeds less; ordinary level food and drinks have been developed more, high-tech food and drinks less; auxiliary treatment of diabetes food and drinks have been developed more, auxiliary treatment of other diseases food and drinks less developed; so for pumpkin seed protein new technology new product development prospects are The prospects for the development of new pumpkin seed protein products are very broad.