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Cucurbita pepo L.

Summary
Summer squash is a fruit vegetable belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae. They are rich source of carotenoids and polyphenols, mainly Kaempferol and Caffeic acid. They promote innate immunity by increasing the lytic activity of Natural Killer cells and proliferation of effector lymphocytes and enhancing the secretion of TNF-α, IL-8, and IL-2.

Mode of Consumption : Fried and boiled
Plant Details Agro-climatic Zone Vernacular Names Pictures
Scientific Name: Cucurbita pepo L.
Family: Cucurbitaceae Juss.
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Cucurbitales 
Genus: Cucurbita L.
Fruiting Season: All round the year
Parts: Fruit
  • The Eastern Coastal Region
  • The North-Eastern Hill Region
  • The Middle Ganga Plain Region
  • North-Western Mountain Region
  • The Deccan Interior Region & The Western Coastal Region
  • The Western Coastal Region
  • The Deccan Interior Region & The Eastern Coastal Region
  • The Upper Ganga Plain Region & The Middle Ganga Plain Region
 Andhra Pradesh : Gumadikaya
Assam : Rongalau
Bihar : Kaddoo
Himachal Pradesh : Kaddoo
Karnataka : Kumbalakayi
Kerala : Mattana
Tamil Nadu : Pucani
Uttar Pradesh : Kaddoo

Fruit
Compound/Extract Activity Mode of Action Marker/References
Fresh fruitAntioxidantFresh Cucurbita pepo are very sensitive to cooking, their antioxidant activity (AA) decreased independently from fresh. Conversely, AA of frozen C. pepo did not decrease after cooking, with microwave practice actually increasing it.[3]
C. pepo extractAnti-tumorInhibited phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signalling pathwayPI3K/Akt[2]
C. pepo extractAntiproliferativeEnhancement of Lytic activity in NK cells, proliferation of lymphocytes which later releases TNF-α, IL-8, IL-2 NK cells, Lymphocytes, TNF-α, IL-8, and IL-2[2]
Major Class Metabolites (Content of bioactives: mg/100g Fresh Weight)
Carboxylic AcidGallic acid : 0.39 - 1.75 mg/100g[1]
CarotenoidLutein : 0.71 - 1.83 mg/100g, Rutin: 0.16 - 2.55mg/100g, Zeaxanthin: 0.05 - 1.00 mg/100g, β-carotene : 0.11 - 0.67mg/100g[1]
FlavonoidKaempferol : 0.40 - 2.90mg/100g[1]
Phenolic acidCaffeic Acid : 2.32 - 9.53mg/100g[1]
Effect Observation DOI
Disease Formulation Reference Author TKDL
Information from Wealth of India Reference
  • The tender fruits are used as vegetable.
  • The seeds are also edible and have anthelmintic properties, used as taneicide.
 CSIR(1950).The Wealth of India, Raw materials,Vol.-II ,P.394-395, New Delhi, India
4.2, 04.2.1, 04.2.1.1, 04.2.1.3, 04.2.2.3, 04.2.2.5, 04.2.2.6, 04.2.2.8
    CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat-6, Assam, India
    CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur-61,Himachal Pradesh, India