Pumpkin Seeds

1. What Is Pumpkin Seeds?

Pumpkin seeds are the seeds of the pumpkin. They lie in the fruit flesh of the ripe fruit. They are eaten as a snack or pressed to make oil. In folk medicine, they were formerly used for bladder and prostate complaints and against tapeworms.

2. Where Is It Found, and What Is It Made From?

The seeds are found in the fruits of all pumpkin species. Dedicated oil pumpkin varieties provide seeds without a hard seed hull (seed coat) that are easy to press. They are eaten as a snack and baking ingredient, and they also serve as cooking oil. The seeds are removed from the ripe fruit, washed, and dried, with or without the seed hull (seed coat). This produces roasted seeds, cold-pressed oil, as well as flour, powder, and protein.

3. What Does Pumpkin Seeds Do? What Research Shows

Prostate and Benign Enlargement

One study investigated men with benign prostatic enlargement. They received a preparation of pumpkin seeds and saw palmetto and rated the treatment effect better than under placebo (sham treatment) 1. Because the preparation contains two components, the finding cannot be attributed to pumpkin seeds alone 1. An older overview considers the role of such plant extracts in prostate complaints to be controversial 9. The strength of evidence is unclear: there is only one controlled study (with a comparison group), and it investigated a combination preparation.

Bladder and Urinary Tract

A study with men with prostate complaints found an improvement in urinary flow, micturition time, residual urine, and micturition frequency compared with placebo under a preparation of pumpkin seeds and saw palmetto 1. Because the preparation additionally contained saw palmetto, the finding cannot be attributed to pumpkin seeds alone 1. The strength of evidence is unclear: there is only this one controlled study on a combination preparation. It remains open whether pumpkin seeds alone influence bladder and urinary tract complaints.

Blood Glucose

A study in healthy adults compared a protein mixture of pumpkin seed protein, pea protein, and brown rice protein against whey and water 2. After whey, insulin rose briefly more strongly than after the plant-based mixture 2. Overall, however, the metabolic effects were similar 2. Because the preparation also contained pea and brown rice protein, the finding cannot be attributed to pumpkin seeds alone 2. The strength of evidence is unclear: there is only this one small study with 15 participants. What was investigated was pumpkin seed protein, not whole, hulled, or roasted seeds, oil, flour, or powder.

Blood Pressure

For blood pressure, there is only a general overview of dietary patterns. It incidentally lists pumpkin seeds among blood-pressure-lowering foods and itself calls for further studies 8. Controlled human studies on blood pressure and a single pumpkin seed form are lacking to date. The strength of evidence therefore remains unclear.

Other Investigations

In this area, three controlled studies show findings on very different forms and questions. In tapeworm infestation, pumpkin seeds with areca nut extract expelled the worms most quickly; pumpkin seeds alone also worked, but markedly more slowly 3. In a small study, baked pumpkin seeds after a sugar rinse helped normalize the acid level in the mouth again 4. Eaten alone, by contrast, they slightly lowered it 4. The strength of evidence is low: the studies are small, or the groups were not divided by lot. No controlled human findings are available in this area for pumpkin seed oil, flour, or powder.

4. How Was Pumpkin Seeds Taken in the Studies?

Frequently, the pumpkin seeds were part of a mixture, for example with saw palmetto, with pea and brown rice protein, or with areca nut extract 123. For pumpkin seed oil, pumpkin seed flour, and pumpkin seed powder, no controlled findings are available in the included human studies.

5. Is Pumpkin Seeds Safe? Side Effects in the Studies

In the study on the combination preparation with saw palmetto, no unwanted side effects were observed 1. In the tapeworm study, temporary nausea and dizziness occurred in nearly half of participants under pumpkin seeds with areca nut extract 3. Individual reports also mention allergic reactions up to anaphylaxis as well as a Salmonella infection in connection with pumpkin seeds 567.

All details with tables and sources: full expert page on Pumpkin Seeds