Pumpkin Seeds

Cucurbita pepo Linnaeus

Pumpkin seeds

Benefits

Anthelmintic
Antidiabetic
Antitumor
Antiparasitic
Anti-inflammatory
Antiulcer
Wound-healing

Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo Linnaeus) is a well-known edible plant that has substantial medicinal properties. It contains several phyto-constituents belonging to the categories of alkaloids, flavonoids, and palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids. Pumpkin seeds have been known in folk medicine as remedy for kidney, bladder and prostate disorders since centuries. Specific applications relating to poultry include:

Deworming: Pumpkin seeds have been proven to be effective in controlling gastrointestinal helminths in some studies.
Burn wound healing: Several studies conducted on rats have shown evidence that oil extracted from pumpkins are beneficial for quicker healing of burns.

Poultry Specific Studies

Type	Plant Part	Dosage	Specific use	Results	Ref
Chickens		2 g/bird per day	anthelmintic	Moderately effective in reducing worm counts of Ascaridia spp. and Raillietina spp., marginally active in reducing worm counts of Heterakis spp., and moderately effective in reducing egg output of the worms.	J Acorda et al., 2019
Other	seeds	1 g/kg BW	anthelmintic	Effective in controlling gastrointestinal helminths.	T Feitosa et al., 2013

References

Achilonu, M C et al.. "Biochemical proximates of pumpkin (Cucurbitaeae spp.) and their beneficial effects on the general well-being of poultry species." Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition vol. 102,1 (2018)
. "Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds" OrganicFacts.net (2016)
Bauri, R. K., Maary Nisha Tigga, and Singray Saleeb Kullu. "A review on use of medicinal plants to control parasites" Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources (2015)
G Damerow. "The Chicken Health Handbook" Storey Publishing (2015)
Saavedra MJ, Aires A, Dias C, Almeida JA, De Vasconcelos MC, Santos P, Rosa EA.. "Evaluation of the potential of squash pumpkin by-products (seeds and shell) as sources of antioxidant and bioactive compounds." J Food Sci Technol (2015)
Nawirska-Olszaska A, Biesiada A, Sokó-towska A, Kucharska AZ. "Characteristics of organic acids in the fruit of different pumpkin species." Food Chem (2013)
Feitosa TF, Vilela VL, Athayde AC, Braga FR, Dantas ES, Vieira VD, de Melo LR. "Anthelmintic efficacy of pumpkin seed (Cucurbita pepo Linnaeus, 1753) on ostrich gastrointestinal nematodes in a semiarid region of Paraíba State, Brazil." Trop Anim Health Prod. (2013)
N Chidley, N Pellegrini, S Church, T Lane, S Viney, K Murden, B McGovern, S Evans, T Laood, L Warner.. "Herbal Health for Chickens" The Herbarium (2011)
Martínez, Y., Valdivié, M., Martínez, O., Estarrón, M., & Córdova, J.. "Utilization of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) seed in broiler chicken diets" Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science (2010)
Confessor, M. V., Mendonça, L. E., Mourão, J. S., & Alves, R. R.. "Animals to heal animals: ethnoveterinary practices in semiarid region, Northeastern Brazil. " Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2009)
Nakamura, M., Yajima, K., Nishimura, H., Nagata, T., Takehara, K., & Inoue, M. . "The effect of herbal medicines on shedding of Salmonella Enteritidis in chickens" Journal of the Japanese Society of Poultry Diseases (Japan). (2002)
Murkovic M, Hillebrand A, Winkler J, Pfannhauser W.. "Variability of vitamin E content in pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita pepo L.)." Z Lebensm Unters Forsch. (1996)
Bezares A, Avila E.. "[Essential amino acids of pumpkin-seed pie (Cucurbita pepo, L.) for chickens]." Arch Latinoam Nutr (1981)
KALIVODA, M.. "Aldolase activity in experimental vitamin E deficiency and the disorder of chickens fed on extracted pumpkin seed meal." Veterinarski Arhiv (1962)

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