An annual monoecious herbaceous slanka plant of the gourd family. The stem is coarsely pubescent, spiky, climbing, with branched tendrils, 3-10 m long. The leaves are large, heart-shaped, coarsely pubescent, 5-lobed; blades are sharp, separated from each other by distinct blunt notches. Flowers unisexual, solitary, axillary; corolla is five-parted, yellow-hot. The peduncles of stamen flowers are bluntly pentagonal. The fruit is berry-like, large, spherical or elongated. Blooms during June – August.
Distribution . It grows wild in tropical America. In Ukraine, they grow both food and fodder crops.
Procurement and storage . In scientific medicine, seeds (Seminis Cucurbitae decorticati) are used, in folk medicine, pulp of the fruit and stalks are used. The seeds are available in pharmacies. It is prepared from ripe fruits. The shelf life of seeds is one year.
Chemical composition . Fruits contain sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose), organic acids (mainly malic), carotene (up to 6 mg %), ascorbic acid (8-20 mg %), folate (14 μg/100 g), pantothenic acid (0.4 mg %) and nicotinic (0.5 mg %) acid, vitamin B6 (0.13 mg %), riboflavin, thiamin, a significant amount of minerals (potassium — 170 mg % , iron — 100, copper — 180, fluorine — 86, zinc — 240 μg/100 g, calcium, phosphorus). The composition of the seeds includes fatty oil (about 20%), phytosterol cucurbitol, resinous substances, organic acids, B vitamins, ascorbic acid.
Pharmacological properties and use. Pumpkin seeds have a helminthic effect and are used as a remedy against tapeworms and roundworms. In terms of activity, it is inferior to the male dryopteris, but it has the advantage that it does not have a toxic effect on the body, and therefore it can be prescribed to children, elderly patients and pregnant women. Treatment with pumpkin seeds to get rid of tapeworms has its own characteristics. 2 days before its start, it is necessary to put an enema every morning, and take a saline laxative the night before. Medicines prepared from pumpkin seeds are taken on an empty stomach the next day. Before use, the seeds are cleaned of the husk, making sure that the gray-green skin remains on the seeds, ground in a mortar with water or milk until a slurry is formed, half a glass of sugar is added, of honey or jam and consume lying down for two hours in small portions (adults need 300 g of seeds, children aged 3-4 years old – 75 g, children 5-7 years old – 100 g, 8-10 years old – 150 g, 10-15 years old — 200-250 g). 3-4 hours after taking the last portion, a laxative is taken, and after half an hour, an enema must be given. In combination with other: medicinal plants and hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds are used in folk medicine for diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract, in particular, for the appearance of blood in the urine, as well as for retention of urine due to spasmodic phenomena. Pumpkin seeds are also used as a diuretic (eat 2-3 cups of seeds per day). Pumpkin pulp is used as a diuretic, choleretic and laxative. Consumption of crumb (raw 0.5 kg, boiled or baked 1, 5-2 kg per day) is indicated for chronic constipation, heart diseases accompanied by edema, gout, chronic forms of pyelonephritis and cholecystitis, chronic colitis and enterocolitis in the stage of mild exacerbation. Soft pumpkin juice is drunk when pregnant women are vomiting, it soothes and improves sleep. Externally, pulp is used for burns, for the treatment of eczema and inflammatory foci on the skin, as a phytotherapeutic agent in cosmetics. A decoction of pumpkin petioles (tails) has a diuretic effect and is recommended for kidney and heart diseases with edema, hypertension, and metabolic disorders. Purulent wounds are treated with a decoction of pumpkin flowers. with chronic colitis and enterocolitis in the stage of mild exacerbation. Soft pumpkin juice is drunk when pregnant women are vomiting, it soothes and improves sleep. Externally, pulp is used for burns, for the treatment of eczema and inflammatory foci on the skin, as a phytotherapeutic agent in cosmetics. A decoction of pumpkin petioles (tails) has a diuretic effect and is recommended for kidney and heart diseases with edema, hypertension, and metabolic disorders. Purulent wounds are treated with a decoction of pumpkin flowers. with chronic colitis and enterocolitis in the stage of mild exacerbation. Soft pumpkin juice is drunk when pregnant women are vomiting, it soothes and improves sleep. Externally, pulp is used for burns, for the treatment of eczema and inflammatory foci on the skin, as a phytotherapeutic agent in cosmetics. A decoction of pumpkin petioles (tails) has a diuretic effect and is recommended for kidney and heart diseases with edema, hypertension, and metabolic disorders. Purulent wounds are treated with a decoction of pumpkin flowers. A decoction of pumpkin petioles (tails) has a diuretic effect and is recommended for kidney and heart diseases with edema, hypertension, and metabolic disorders. Purulent wounds are treated with a decoction of pumpkin flowers. A decoction of pumpkin petioles (tails) has a diuretic effect and is recommended for kidney and heart diseases with edema, hypertension, and metabolic disorders. Purulent wounds are treated with a decoction of pumpkin flowers.
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally— cleaned raw seeds with a gray-green skin for deworming and prevention of various tapeworms and as a diuretic (methods of application and doses, see the section “Pharmacological properties and use”); pulp juice 2 tablespoons three times a day as a diuretic or 1 glass 3 times a day for liver and kidney diseases; decoction of petioles (20 g per 400 ml of boiling water) half a glass 4 times a day; 2 glasses of a mixture of ordinary pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds, taken in equal proportions, are prepared as an emulsion in three glasses of boiling water (grind in a mortar and, with constant stirring, add boiling water, filter) and drink in equal portions during the day; 4 tablespoons of a mixture of pumpkin seeds (20 g), hemp seeds (20 g), blackberry leaves (20 g), linden flowers (20 g), black elder (20 g),
Externally – the pulp is applied to the affected areas of the skin; face mask for dry skin (Hyposteatosis cutis): mix 2 tablespoons of cooked Pumpkin flesh with 1 tablespoon of olive or almond oil and apply the resulting mixture to the face;
after 20 minutes, rinse with warm water, and then immediately with cold water.