In vitro health beneficial activities of Pumpkin seeds from Cucurbita moschata cultivated in Lemnos

Abstract

Pumpkin seeds are commonly consumed in Greece. Although Cucurbita moschata is locally grown in Lemnos and is traditionally used in pumpkin pies, the seeds are currently discarded after consumption of the fruit flesh. The aim of the present study was to investigate the nutritional functionality of pumpkin seeds from Cucurbita moschata grown in Lemnos. Cucurbita moschatas' seeds, raw or roasted, were appropriately extracted and the results are presented for raw versus (vs) roasted seed extracts. The phenolic content was expressed as µg gallic acid/g of seeds according to Folin-Ciocalteau assay (370.3 ± 19.1 vs 551.0 ± 22.0). Antioxidant capacity was expressed as equivalent amount for 50% scavenging in mg of seeds for DPPH (50.03 ± 5.91 vs 25.82 ± 6.77) and ABTS (17.85 ± 0.77 vs 12.77 ± 0.76) assays, and as µmol of trolox/g of seeds for FRAP (1.19 ± 0.05 vs 2.50 ± 0.23) and CUPRAC (2.13 ±0.11 vs 3.25 ± 0.06) assays. Anti-inflammatory/antithrombotic and anti-diabetic activities were expressed as mg of seeds for 50% inhibition of platelet activating factor (0.62 vs 0.15) and as µg of seeds for 25% inhibition of alpha-glycosidase (40.0 vs 61.0) activities respectively. Moreover, anti-atherogenic activity was expressed as the % increase in lag time of human plasma oxidation (62.7 versus 163.2) Raw and roasted pumpkin seed extracts exert anti-oxidant, anti-thrombotic/anti-inflammatory, antiatherogenic and antidiabetic activities. Cucurbita moschata seeds may represent a novel opportunity for development of functional foods, with a local interest in Lemnos that would contribute also to the regional public health improvement.

Olive Paste-Enriched Cookies Exert Increased Antioxidant Activities

“…Increased antioxidant activities have been related to the production of reductones during Maillard reaction, while increased phenolics have been noticed due to the release of phenolic compounds from precursor molecules upon heating. These phenomena depend on time, temperature and food ingredients [16,30,31]. In the present study the time and temperature on the studied cookies did not cause significant changes.…”

“…The suspension was left at room temperature under magnetic agitation for 15 min and was then centrifuged for10 min at 2000× g in a Hermle Z 383 centrifuge (Hermle Labortechnik, Wehingen, Germany). The supernatants were collected and the volume of each one was made up to 10.0 mL [16]. Various volumes of extracts in the range of 0.01 to 0.10 mL were dissolved in a final volume of 1.8 mL with distilled water followed by the addition of 0.1 mL Folin-Ciocalteu reagent.…”

Antioxidant potential of family Cucurbitaceae with special emphasis on Cucurbita genus: A key to alleviate oxidative stress‐mediated disorders

“…Since 1995, Fahim, Abd-el Fattah, Agha, and Gad (1995) demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effect of oil from the seeds of Cucurbita; it has a similar effect as indomethacin, widely used medicine to treat this disease. Since then, in vitro studies were conducted and it was established that C. moschata seed extracts displayed the anti-inflammatory activity toward human platelet-rich plasma (PRP) (Sakka & Karantonis, 2015).…”

Trends in Food Innovation: An Interventional Study on the Benefits of Consuming Novel Functional Cookies Enriched with Olive Paste

“…Antiradical activity was determined by Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) assay, as previously described in deproteinized plasma according to Prymont-Przyminska et al [20]. Resistance to copper-induced plasma oxidation was determined according to Sakka and Karantonis [21].…”