Oil extracted from pumpkin seeds is available on the market as a nutritional supplement. It can be expressed by a cold-press method without the use of any solvents. The extracted oil is often available in soft-gel capsules. It also comes in liquid form, which is noted to have a rich, nutty taste. Talk to your doctor before taking pumpkin-seed oil to treat, prevent or cure any health condition.
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is a condition where the prostate gland enlarges and presses up against the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder, making it difficult to urinate. In men, this often occurs as a normal part of the aging process. Pumpkin-seed extract was found to help treat this condition in older men by improving urinary flow in a study published in 2009 in "Nutrition Research and Practice" journal. The men received 320 mg of pumpkin-seed extract per day. The effect of this dose was observed for 12 months, and the researchers discovered improvements six months after treatment began.
Pain Relief
Pumpkin-seed extract can help if you suffer from pain. Preliminary evidence stemming from animal studies suggest that pumpkin-seed extract helps reduce inflammation and works as an analgesic, or something that alleviates pain, according to a study of mice published in 2010 in the "International Journal of Pharmacology." The researchers found that the mice showed fewer pain-related behaviors, such as tail flicking, with pumpkin-seed extract than with morphine.
Protecting Neurons
Some evidence from animal studies shows that pumpkin-seed extract may have neuroprotective qualities. Something that is neuroprotective has the ability to protect neurons, which are cells of the nervous system, from damage. In experimental animals, pumpkin-seed extract was found to protect neurons from clinically induced chemical exposure in a study of experimental animals published in 2009 in the "Journal of Applied Sciences Research."
Antioxidant
Pumpkin-seed extract is an antioxidant, according to researchers in the 2010 study in the "International Journal of Pharmacology." Antioxidants are compounds that protect cells from free radicals. Free radicals, although natural byproducts of cellular metabolism, can attach to healthy cells, leading to disease in the body.
References
- "Nutrition Research and Practice"; Effects of Pumpkin Seed Oil and Saw Palmetto Oil in Korean Men with Symptomatic Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia; Heeok Hong et al.; 2009
- "International Journal of Pharmacology"; Evaluation of Free Radical Scavenging, Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Potential of Benincasa Hispida Seed Extract; N.S. Gill et al.; 2010
- "Journal of Applied Sciences Research"; Protective Effect of Ginkgo Biloba Extract and Pumpkin Seed Oil Against Neurotoxicity of Rotenone in Adult Male Rats; Hanaa H. Ahmed et al.; 2009
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