Planta Med 2009; 75 - PG29
DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1234683

Constituents and quality control parameters of the vegetable oil from Cucurbita moschata, Duchesne, cultivated in Cuba

E Jorge Rodríguez 1, Y Vander Heyden 2, U Monteagudo Romero 1, P Dramou 1, G Gómez 1, L Bravo Sánchez 1, N Bernal 1, Y Saucedo Hernández 1
  • 1Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Chemical-Pharmacy, Central University of Las Villas, Santa Clara, 54830, Villa Clara, Cuba
  • 2Department of Analytical Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel-VUB, Belgium

Vegetable oils are essential in global nutrition. Depending on the used plant species and on regional conditions, a variety of oils with different qualities is produced. The pumpkin seed oils are produced from the seeds of pumpkins (Cucurbita species) and they have been utilized in pharmaceutical industry, first as a teniacid, then to relieve from disorders of the prostate gland and urinary bladder caused by benign prostate hyperplasia (BHP). The goal of this work is the study of the physicochemical properties and the fatty acid composition of pumpkin seed oil obtained from the variety Cucurbita moschata Duchesne, cultivated in Cuba. The virgin oil was obtained from raw materials of special quality by mechanical procedures (high-pressure screw-pressing) and evaluated for its physicochemical characteristics. The fatty acid profile analysis of the oil was also carried out by gas liquid chromatography. The oil obtained from the pumpkin seed had a relative density of 0.9, a refractive index of 1.4 and an optical rotation of 0.34. Its saponification, acid, peroxide, and iodine values were 221 (mg KOH/g oil), 1.7(mg KOH/g oil), 15 (meq peroxide/kg oil) and 144 (g I2/100g oil), respectively. The unsaturated fatty acids content was 77% and comprises 27% oleic acid and 49.9% linoleic acid. The saturated fatty acids concentration was 22.8% and is consisting of 16.4% palmitic acid and 6.5% stearic acid. These results are confirmed by the findings of Al-Khalifa [1] and Younis et al. [2] for the variety C. pepo, and by the analytical monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia, 5th ed. [3] for other vegetable oils. The oil studied had high iodine values, thus reflecting a high degree of unsaturation, whereas the presence of high amounts of the essential linoleic acid suggests that the pumpkin seed oil is highly nutritious. The parameters evaluated could be useful, as quality criteria, to the seed oil obtained from Cucurbita moschata Duchesne, cultivated in Cuba.

References: [1] Al-Khalifa, A. (1996)J. Agric. Food Chem. 44:964–966.

[2] Younis, Y. et al. (2000) Phytochemistry 54:71–75.

[3] European Pharmacopeia. (2005) 5th ed. Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France.