Pharmacological and biomedical uses of extracts of pumpkin and its relatives and applications in the food industry: a review

ABSTRACT

Pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) is a multifunctional ingredient in diet and health-related fields. The seed, flowers, fruit pericarp, and leaves have been used as base materials for innovative functional foods, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical preparations. The diverse bioactive component in large amounts in pumpkin classifies it as a functional food with many therapeutic, pharmacological, and biofunctional attributes. It is employed in the formulation of innovative and novel food products initiating additional studies for the discovery of more benefits. This review examines utilization of extracts derived from pumpkin for medicinal and food applications. Its use against pathogens, metabolic syndrome diseases, and dysfunction of organs with integration of its food-oriented uses is described.

KEYWORDS:

• Cucurbita spp
• anti-inflammatory
• bioactive compounds
• food applications
• therapeutic