Nutrient content and toxicity of pumpkin seed flour

Abstract

Pumpkin seeds are rarely used as food, despite their potential to become a functional food. Among other ways, pumpkin seeds can be processed into flour. This study aimed to assess the nutrient content, quality, and toxicity of pumpkin seed flour from Indonesia. This study followed an experimental design. Different methods were employed to measure the content, the Luff–Schoorl method for measuring carbohydrates, Kjeldahl method for protein, Soxhlet for fats, and the direct method for ash, crude fiber and moisture. The spectrophotometric method was used to measure vitamin content and mineral content was measured using X-Ray fluorescence. The subchronic toxicity test was conducted using five experimental animal groups, consisting of four intervention groups and one control group. The intervention groups received pumpkin seed flour of 10.8 mg/kg BW, 9 mg/kg BW, 5.4 mg/kg BW and 4.5 mg/kg BW. After 30 days, the experimental animals were dissected to check for liver and kidney damage. Pumpkin seed flour contains water (4.17%), ash (4.02%), proteins (35.30%), fats (36.30%), crude fibers (14.20%), carbohydrates (6.02%), vitamin C (0.10%), vitamin A (65.12 mg/kg), calcium (573.03 ppm), copper (3.10 ppm), iron (104.38 ppm), zinc (68.87 ppm), phosphorus (0.17%), magnesium (0.33%) and manganese (119.48 ppm). In the toxicity test, no death or organ damage occurred among the experimental animals. Therefore, pumpkin seed flour meets the requirements for development into functional food and supplements.