* Please Note: This information is based partly on Traditional Medicine which uses natural materials to support health. This information has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor.
Description: Pumpkin is a robust creeping annual herb with large hairy leaves, coiled tendrils and large, funnel-shaped, yellow flowers. The enormous fruit is technically a berry, and has numerous flat seeds embedded within the spongy fruit flesh. The seeds are oval in shape, flat, pointed at the one end and usually green to white or pale brown in colour. Seeds of various other species generally known as winter squashes or pumpkins (including C. maxima, C. mixta and C. moschata) are used to some extent.
Origin: South and Central America, cultivated in most parts of the world. Nowadays, cukivars are used that produce seeds with soft shells or even without a seed coat (testa) to eliminate the need for shelling.
Parts Used: Ripe, dried seeds (Cucurbitae peponis semen) or seed oil.
Uses and Properties: Pumpkin seeds or seed oil have become popular in recent years for the symptomatic relief of benign prostatic hyperplasia (a traditional practice in central Europe) and irritated bladder. Seed extracts have been employed as a vermifuge (especially against tapeworms and roundworms) and externally for wound-healing.
Active Ingredients: The seed oil contains fatty acids, of which linoleic acid (about 60%) is the main compound. Of interest are various plant sterols and sterol glycosides (about 1%) (especially A7-sterols) and tocopherols. Also present is cucurbitine (3-amino-3-carboxypyrrolidine), a cyclic non-protein amino acid. Pharmacological Effects: Beneficial effects against benign prostatic hypertrophy is associated with the presence of Δ7-sterols. Clinical studies suggest that they may inhibit the binding of dihydrotesrosterone within the prostate, or perhaps work through inhibition of 5-alpha-reductase and aromatase. The activity against tapeworm is attributed to cucurbitine.
Status: Traditional medicine; Pharm.; Comm. E+.
The Halloween gourd - big, holiday-orange, filled with hundreds of oblong seeds - is familiar to virtually everyone in North America, where pumpkin is a native plant. Today, pumpkins are grown in many places around the world, including the tropics. The seeds are the medicinal part.
Potential Health Benefits
Pumpkin seed is widely used to treat urinary problems, especially in men affected by benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH), a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland associated with aging. In traditional Asian medicine, pumpkin seed is used to treat worms and diabetes, although scientists haven't confirmed pumpkin's value for such uses.
Scientific Evidence
Commission E says of pumpkin seed: "Due to the lack of suitable modeling, there are no pharmacological studies that substantiate the empirically found clinical activity". The seeds appear to have anti-inflammatory properties, although researchers aren't quite sure how or why. Elevated levels of the male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) are associated with enlarged prostate glands.
In Dr. Duke's Essential Herbs, James A. Duke, Ph.D., reports "In one study, BPH patients took 90 milligrams of isolated pumpkin sterols before undergoing surgery to remove their. prostates. Tissue analyses later confirmed that the pumpkin users' glands contained less DHT."
Preparation and Dosage: An average dose of 10 g seeds per day (or its equivalent) is recommended. To be effective, the treatment should be maintained for several weeks or months.
How to Use the Herb
Commission E recommends using coarsely ground seed at an average daily dose of 10 grams, taken with water, morning and evening.
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Directions
Take 1 capsule, 3 times daily, with meals.
Cautions
There are no known side effects, contraindications, or drug interactions. Be advised, though, that pumpkin seeds treat only the symptoms of BPH and inflamed urinary tracts; they don't cure the underlying diseases.
The treatment of an enlarged prostate should be supervised by a health care professional, as pumpkin seeds and other products only provide symptomatic relief.
Additional Information
The TerraVita Premium Collection uses only the finest, purest and most potent plant extracts from around the world.
The TerraVita Premium Collection is hallmarked by the highest possible standards of purity, potency, stability and freshness. Our highest possible standards are certified by independent laboratories and backed by our personal guarantee.
The TerraVita Premium Collection is packed in child-proof, tamper-proof pharmaceutical-grade recyclable containers.
ZooScape is proud to be the exclusive distributor of TerraVita teas, herbs and supplements in the United States, Canada and around the world. Please direct all wholesale and bulk inquiries to Simona Heather at 905-494-1785.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor. The essence of the current American rule on Traditional Uses is, as stated by FTC, "Claims based on historical or traditional use should be substantiated by confirming scientific evidence, or should be presented in such a way that consumers understand that the sole basis for the claim is a history of use of the product for a particular purpose."
