Pumpkin/Kaddu - Health benefits, application, chemical constituents, side effects and many more

Pumpkin/Kaddu

Pumpkins belong to the Cucurbitaceae , a medicinally and economically important plant group. In fact, a number of them are cultivated both for his or her edible fruits than for the cure of a good array of health-related problems. Cucurbitaceae produce the so-called cucurbitacins, important compounds with curative effects. The pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.), one among the foremost popular vegetables consumed within the world, has been recently recognized as a functional food. Pumpkin seeds, generally considered agro-industrial waste, are a very rich source of bioactive compounds with interesting nutraceutical properties. It shows cardioprotective, hypoglycaemic, Anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective, Antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties.

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It has different names in different languages such as Hindi Name(Kumhara, Saphed kaddu, Kumda),  Marathi Name(Bhopla, Kaula, Kohala),  Sanskrit Name(Kooshmandi),  Bengali Name(Saada kumhara),  Tamil Name(Parangi),  Telugu Name(Gummadi kaya),  Bengali Name(Safed kaddu, Lanka),  Malayalam Name(Mattana),  Kannada name(Sihi kumbala kayi),  Manipuri Name(Mairen),  Oriya Name(Kakharu).

Vitamin and Mineral content

• Vitamin : A, C, E, K, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9
• Minerals : Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Zinc
• Vitamin C is present in moderate content, but no other nutrients are in significant amounts. Pumpkin is 92% water, 6.5% carbohydrate, 0.1% fat and 1% protein.

• Pumpkin seeds are good source of protein, magnesium, copper and zinc.
• The oil is rich with oleic and linoleic acids, D7-sterols (avenasterol, spinasterol), D5-sterol (sitosterol, stigmasterol) and also contains remarkable bioactives such as triter-penoids, sesquiterpenoids, tetraterpenoids (carotenoids), tocopherols, and polyphenols (flavonoids, phenolic acids and lignans) and Saponins.
• Cucurbitacins(main compound in pumpkin) are a class of highly oxygenated compounds, with a tetracyclic triterpenic structure derived from the cucurbitane skeleton [19-(10!9b)-abeo-l0a-lanost-5-ene] also known as 9b-methyl-19-nor lanosta-5-ene.
          - Cucurbitacins can act as digestive and purgative agents being rich in strong bitter principles able to stimulate the gastric secretion.
• Pumpkin contains various biologically active components such as polysaccharides, para-aminobenzoic acid, fixed oils, sterols, proteins and peptides. Pumpkin are a good source of carotenoids and γ-aminobutyric acid.
• D-chiro-Inositol in pumpkin has been identified as an insulin secretor and sensitiser.
• Dominant phenolic compounds in the pumpkin seeds are tyrosol, vanillin, p-hydroxybenzoic, caffeic, ferulic, and vanillic acids; and some small amounts of luteolin, protocatechuic, trans-p-coumaric and syringic acids. 

Properties and Benefits

• Taste (rasa) – sweet
• Taste conversation after digestion – sweet(Madhura)
• Grahi – absorbent, constipating in nature
• Ruksha – dry in nature
• Potency (virya) – Cold
• Guru – heavy to digest
• Vishtambhi – causes constipation
• Syandi – causes moistness and discharges from channels
• Effect on Tridosha : Balances all three doshas
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> Ripe Pumpkin

• Taste – Bitter
• Agnijanani – improves digestion power
• Sakshara – alkaline in nature
• Ruchikrit – improves taste
• Effect on Tridoshas – Balances Vata and Kapha dosha but Increases pitta dosha

> Raw Pumpkin 

• Taste – sweet
• Properties – heavy, dry
• Potency – cold
• Taste conversation after digestion  – sweet(Madhura)
• Effect on Tridoshas – Balances Vata and Pitta dosha but Increases Kapha dosha
• 
  

> Pumpkin flowers

• Taste – sweet
• Properties – light (low calorie content, which helps in weight loss)
• Potency – cold (mildly diuretic)
• Taste conversation after digestion  – sweet(Madhura)
• Effect on Tridosha : Balances Vata and Pitta Dosha but nourishes Kapha dosha

> pumpkin Leaves

• Taste – sweet
• Properties – heavy
• Potency – hot
• Taste conversation after digestion  – sweet(Madhura)
• Effect on Tridosha – Balances Vata and Pitta Dosha but nourishes Kapha dosha

> Pumpkin seeds

• Taste – sweet
• Properties – heavy (dried, helps in weight gain)
• Potency – cold (may cause indigestion if not chewed properly)
• Taste conversation after digestion  – sweet(Madhura)
• Effect on Doshas –  Vata balancing, Pitta nourishing, Kapha increasing

> Pumpkin oil : 

• Taste – Sweet
• Taste conversation after digestion – sweet
• Guru – heavy to digest
• Potency (virya) – cold
• Keshya – good for hair
• Effect on tridoshas – balances vata and pitta dosha but increases Kapha dosha

Uses, benefits and application

1) Pumpkin fruit is used to cure fatigue, thirst, cold, ache, throat and eye infection. It purifies the blood.

2) Pumpkin is eaten as a sweet in the form halwa.  Pumpkin is cooked along with butter or Ghee, sugar, and spices(cardamom) and heating is continued till a semi solid halva is prepared. Dish commonly called ad kadu ka halwa. 

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3) Leaves paste is used in burns and biliousness. On external application, it relieves burning sensation and pain.

4) Sap of the plant and the pulp of the fruit can be used for burns.

5) In various parts of India, prepare saag and kachri/pakoda of the leaves and flowers.

6) Pumpkin seeds are used to treat irritable bladder and prostatic complains. They are anti-parasitic, taenicide and diuretic.

7) Pumpkin is used to make sambar in Udupi cuisine and sabji along with Roti.

8) The content of tryptophan in Pumpkin seed is converted into serotonin and niacin. Serotonin helps to induce sleep and reduces mental stress.

9) pumpkin seed oil is generally mixed with other oils because of its robust flavor. Pumpkin seed oil contains fatty acids, such as oleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid.

10) The leaves of the pumpkin plant are consumed as a cooked vegetable or in soups.

11) Seeds have beneficial effect on spleen, lungs and kidney. Treats gastritis, burns, chest pain, thirst, enteritis, bronchitis, fever, headaches, neuralgia, hemorrhoids, anemia, constipation, etc.

12) pumpkin can be used to flavor both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages.

13) The seeds are popular with children who roast them on a pan before eating them. 

14) In intestinal inflammation, the fruit pulp decoction is used.

15) Leaves are easy for digestion. They are used as a remedy for nausea, fever, pain, biliousness, bladder disorders, stomach upsets, intestinal worms, bed-wetting, rheumatism, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), burns and wounds.

16) Fresh fruit juice mixed with rose extract is used as ear drops to cure otitis.

17) Seeds are also used as a remedy for whooping cough in small children. They are also used in malnutrition and improves breast milk production.

18) For gastro intestinal problems, fruit boiled in water is served with salt and black pepper.

19) pumpkin seed oil is used for cooking and cosmetics(Used in Anti-wrinkle & Hydrating Ointments). 

20) Whole plant is used to treat bronchial asthma, cough, edema, headache, cold, heart diseases, lung infection, piles, arthritis and fever. It is good for bloody and purulent phlegm, night blindness and habitual miscarriage.

21) A combination of extracting pumpkin juice and honey is an outstanding cooling mediator and therefore, it can be operated in dropping the body temperature.

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22) The use of pumpkin pulp as a natural pigment in the form of powder added to confectionery, bakery, pasta, and dairy products.

23) In children it cures excess body fat.

24) Pumpkin pulp is extensively used in facemasks in mixture with other elements such as honey, yoghurt, lemon juice and vitamin E lubricant for dissimilar skin types.

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25) The fresh nuts and kernels, together with pumpkin seeds are the richest cradle of plant-built Omega-3 Fatty acids.

Pumpkin seed oil 

Pumpkin seed oil is nutritious and a excellent source of protein. It is considered good for heart and a rich source of minerals, dietary fiber, vitamins and mono-unsaturated fatty acids. The minerals mainly zinc, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium and selenium present in pumpkin seeds makes it the excellent source of nutrients. Hence pumpkin seeds are known as nutritional powerhouse and used to fight against the diseases such as arthritis, inflammation, prostate cancer etc. It was also found that pumpkin seed oil is characterized by antihypertensive and cardioprotective effects. 

• Pumpkin Seed oil for hair : Oil extrated from the seeds of pumpkin are known to regrow hair. It improves hair strength and prevents hair fall.

           - For its hair benefits, a few drops of pumpkin seed oil is mixed with Coconut/sesame oil and it is applied over the scalp root, on a daily basis. If applied before bed night, it also helps with good sleep. It can also be applied 30 minutes before hair wash, once or twice a day.

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• Pumpkin oil for skin – It improves face glow, complexion and useful as a moisturizer. For its benefits, a few drops of the oil is taken on the finger tips and gently rubbed over the face. It is left on the face for 5 – 10 minutes and washed off with soap and water or besan powder.  This remedy is not for oily skin.

Side effects :

1) some people are allergic to pumpkin seeds

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Reference : 

1) Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med.  Published online 2011 Oct 2.  PMCID: PMC3746528

2) Heliyon.  Published online 2019 Sep 13.  PMCID: PMC6819838

3) Molecules.  Published online 2019 Aug 14.  PMCID: PMC6719207

4) Foods. Published online 2018 Mar 1.  PMCID: PMC5867545

5) Balkrishnan A.Pitkushmand.Ayurved Jadi Buti Rehsya. 

6) Current Opinion in Food Science 2018, 22:81–87

7) International Journal of Molecular sciences.  2016,17, 1456; doi:10.3390/ijms17091456

8) Hindawi Publishing Corporation. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineVolume 2014, Article ID 549721, 7 pageshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/549721.  Effect of Pumpkin Seed Oil on Hair Growth in Men with Androgenetic Alopecia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. 

9) Medicinal and biological potential of pumpkin: an updated review.  Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 November 2010

10) Nutrition Research Reviews(2010),23, 184–190.   doi:10.1017/S0954422410000107Nutrition

11) Scientific African.  Volume 10, November 2020.  The potential of pumpkin seeds as a functional food ingredient: A review

12) Sciencedirect.com

13) Local tradition and knowledge

14) California College of Ayurveda

15) Chemistry: Food Chemistry–Food Technology: Chemistry and Biochemistry of Foods and Food Processing.  Published: 25 January 2021.  Physicochemical, nutritional, bioactive compounds and fatty acid profiling of Pumpkin flower (Cucurbita maxima), as a potential functional food.  SN Applied Sciences volume 3, Article number: 216 (2021) 

16) Nutr Res Pract.  Published online 2012 Feb 29.  PMCID: PMC3296918

17) Bhavaprakasha Nighantu

18) Kaiyadeva Nighantu

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