Professional paper
Forgotten Wealth - Pumpkin Seed Oil
Ivančica Delaš
orcid.org/0000-0002-0954-2813
; University of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Šalata 3, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The increasing number of overweight and obese individuals, along with the increasing prevalence of patients with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, resulted in a growing fear from all kinds of fats. However, some lipids, like fat soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids, are required for normal growth and metabolism, and therefore cannot be omitted from the diet. Numerous researches revealed the fact that health effects of different oils and fats on metabolism depend mostly on their fatty acid composition.
As a consequence, some oils were underlined as “healthy” and their use was recommended and preferred. From that point of view, pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil were iniquitously neglected.
Pumpkin seeds are rich in magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and iron, with considerably high content of proteins. Pumpkin seed oil contains
more than 50 % of essential fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic, with relatively low content of atherogenic saturated fatty acids. Furthermore, this oil contains significant amounts of fat soluble vitamins, particularly vitamin E, as well as other components present in smaller amounts, but with significant biological activity.
Known in popular medicine for a long time, positive effects of pumpkin seed oil consumption in the treatment of benignant prostate hyperplasia, bladder infections and worms, along with the other health benefi ts, nowadays are being confirmed by relevant scientific evidence.
Keywords
pumpkin seed oil; Cucurbita pepo; essential fatty acids; antioxidants
Hrčak ID:
59411
URI
Publication date:
30.6.2010.
Visits: 4.465 *