Abstract
Cucurbita genus has received a renowned interest in the last years. This plant species, native to the Americas, has served worldwide folk medicine for treating gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal parasites, among other clinical conditions. These pharmacological effects have been increasingly correlated with their nutritional and phytochemical composition. Among those chemical constituents, carotenoids, tocopherols, phenols, terpenoids, saponins, sterols, fatty acids, and functional carbohydrates and polysaccharides are those occurring in higher abundance. However, more recently, a huge interest in a class of triterpenoids, cucurbitacins, has been stated, given its renowned biological attributes. In this sense, the present review aims to provide a detailed overview to the folk medicinal uses of Cucurbita plants, and even an in-depth insight on the latest advances with regards to its antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer effects. A special emphasis was also given to its clinical effectiveness in humans, specifically in blood glucose levels control in diabetic patients and pharmacotherapeutic effects in low urinary tract diseases.
Highlights
Cucurbita plants have been applied in different cultures as traditional medication
Pumpkin extracts showed a positive activity towards bacterial and fungal infections. They were effective against gram-positive: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, as well as gram-negative bacterium: Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp. or Klebsiella spp
The use of Cucurbita species and their active constituents in various clinical and pharmacological studies revealed the presence of multiple, effective and useful compounds, which provide the opportunity for further production of antidiabetic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective drugs and foods
Summary
Cucurbita plants have been applied in different cultures as traditional medication. For instance, Native Americans have used pumpkins for the treatment of intestinal worms and urinary ailments, this therapeutic strategy being approved by American doctors in the early nineteenth century as an anthelmintic for worms annihilating [1]. Cucurbits fruits are found to be beneficial in blood cleansing, purification of toxic substances and good for digestion, besides giving the required energy to improve human health These species possess a higher amount of proteins, phytosterols [11,12], unsaturated fatty acids [13,14], vitamins (like carotenoids, tocopherols) [15] and microelements (e.g., zinc) [16]. Possess different pharmacological effects [17,18], such as antidiabetic [19,20,21], antiulcer, analgesic, nephroprotective [22] and anticancer activities [18] In this sense, this review provides a detailed overview to the folk medicinal uses of Cucurbita plants, an in-depth insight on the latest advances regarding its antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer effects, and lastly, a special emphasis to its clinical effectiveness in humans, in blood glucose levels control and low urinary tract diseases (Figure 1).
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