Common name: round cucumber.
Parts used: seeds.
Pharmacy name:pumpkin seeds – Cucurbitae semen (formerly: Semen Cucurbitae). Origin. Homeland pumpkin – America; from there the Spaniards brought it to Europe. It is this pumpkin that has spread widely here, while other species are cultivated less frequently. Cultivation and cooking. To grow squash in the garden, choose a sunny location and sow a few seeds in well-drained loose soil. After they germinate, leave only the strongest plants for further growth. After the development of the fourth lateral shoot, cut off the main shoot and wait for the fruits to be set. More than 8 fruits should not be brought to maturity. When the flowers fade, cut off the tops of the side shoots. Then you will get large and healthy fruits. For medicinal purposes, pumpkin seeds are used, air-dried and peeled, and pumpkin oil pressed from them. It is not bad to constantly use the pulp of a pumpkin; and in winter and early spring, canned pumpkin compote can be a good substitute for it. The soft-skinned butter gourd from Styria (Cucurbita pepo L. convar. citrullina J. Gerb. var. styriaca J. Gerb.) is most suitable for medicinal purposes. It is specially grown, and it is its seeds that can be purchased at pharmacies. In recent years, intensive pharmacological research has been carried out with this variety.
Active ingredients: fatty oil, a little essential oil, protein, pectins, steroids, a non-cardinal amount of some alkaloid, vitamins (especially vitamin E), hormone-like substances, selenium, and other active ingredients that have not yet been definitely determined.
Healing action and application.The composition of the active ingredients and the action of each of them separately are not known enough to correctly judge the healing properties of pumpkin seeds. However, we know for sure that they help in the treatment of various diseases of the bladder, its especially irritated condition and weakening of the tone in benign neoplasms of the prostate in the elderly. Urologists have confirmed that pumpkin seeds affect the mechanism of urination. It is enough to take 2-3 times every day for 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds. The course of treatment should be continued for several months. Tea is less effective. In addition, pumpkin seeds can help with bedwetting in babies if there are no organic changes at the basis of this ailment. The German National Health Service indicates that pumpkin seeds are applied “
Application in folk medicine.All of the above applications go back to folk medicine, which in most cases is the first to give us an impetus to the study of one or another medicinal plant. If, despite the non-recognition of scientific medicine, the use of a plant in folk medicine persists, it often makes sense to study such a plant in more detail. In addition to what we have already said, traditional medicine recommends pumpkin pulp, raw or cooked (as compote or jelly), to all people with sensitive kidneys. It is believed that in pregnant women, as if from pumpkin compote, persistent vomiting passes. As for applying slices of pumpkin pulp to wounds, it serves more as a cooling agent than a real cure. It is doubtful that pumpkin tea can treat diabetes. It seems to me,
Side effects. All the methods of using pumpkin described here do not give side effects.