Oil and Tocopherol Content and Composition of Pumpkin Seed Oil in 12 Cultivars

Abstract

Twelve pumpkin cultivars (Cucurbita maxima D.), cultivated in Iowa, were studied for their seed oil content, fatty acid composition, and tocopherol content. Oil content ranged from 10.9 to 30.9%. Total unsaturated fatty acid content ranged from 73.1 to 80.5%. The predominant fatty acids present were linoleic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic. Significant differences were observed among the cultivars for stearic, oleic, linoleic, and gadoleic acid content of oil. Low linolenic acid levels were observed (<1%). The tocopherol content of the oils ranged from 27.1 to 75.1 μg/g of oil for α-tocopherol, from 74.9 to 492.8 μg/g for γ-tocopherol, and from 35.3 to 1109.7 μg/g for δ-tocopherol. The study showed potential for pumpkin seed oil from all 12 cultivars to have high oxidative stability that would be suitable for food and industrial applications, as well as high unsaturation and tocopherol content that could potentially improve the nutrition of human diets. Keywords: Pumpkin seed oil; pumpkin seed; oilseed; winter squash; Cucurbitaceae; fatty acid; tocopherol

Cold-pressed pumpkin seed (<em>Cucurbita pepo</em> L.) oils from the central Anatolia region of Turkey: Characterization of phytosterols, squalene, tocols, phenolic acids, carotenoids and fatty acid bioactive compounds

“…As can be seen in Table 3, significantly high amount of tocols were determined and total contents for the studied oil samples ranged from 94.29±0.34 mg/100 g oil to 97.79±0.76 mg/100g oil. The amounts of tocols are higher than other reports and, in mentioned studies the maximum contents of tocols were detected as 70.90 mg/100 g oil, 35.10 mg/100 g oil, and 77.05 mg/100 g oil in pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) seed oils, respectively (Stevenson et al, 2007;Nederal et al, 2012;Siger et al, 2008). The contents of these natural antioxidants in vegetable oils depends on a number of factors, such as variety characteristics, the kind of oil, extraction process, and they are possibly managed by the content of unsaturated FAs.…”

Action of ethylene on postharvest of summer squash ‘Menina Brasileira’

“…Content of starch decreased over time, with greater reduction in higher doses of ethylene, 50.31% and 45.11%, respectively, in treatments with 100 and 1000 µL L -1 of ethylene over an eight-day period ( Figure 5). Generally, the starch content in the immature squashes is low, less than 3%, although some varieties can reach higher levels (Stevenson et al, 2007). In this experiment, it was determined that starch content in summer squash is about 1.03%.…”

Incorporation of capric acid in pumpkin seed oil by sn-1,3 regioselective lipase-catalyzed acidolysis

“…Nowadays, this oil is used as a salad oil in several countries (Austria, Slovenia and Hungary), due to its pleasant sensory properties, high nutritive value and good oxidative stability, as it has a high content of natural antioxidants, such as phenolic compounds (Tsaknis et al, 1997;Murković et al, 2004;Yu et al, 2005;Stevenson et al, 2007;Fruhwirth and Hemetter, 2008;Vujasinovic et al, 2010). Moreover, this oil has gained attention, not only as an edible oil, but also as a potential nutraceutical.…”

“…Moreover, this oil has gained attention, not only as an edible oil, but also as a potential nutraceutical. In fact, it is a good source of healthy compounds, especially phenolics, tocopherols (vitamin E) and carotenoids as lipophilic antioxidants (Stevenson et al, 2007), acting as preventative agents against hypertension and carcinogenic diseases (Zuhair et al, 2000;Jian et al, 2005). Also, the D7-sterols are specific to pumpkin seed oil and supposed to confer to this oil a beneficial effect in the treatment and prophylaxis of the prostate gland and bladder disorders (Nakić et al, 2006).…”