Nutritional and Lipid Composition Analysis of Pumpkin Seed (Cucurbita maxima Linn.)

Abstract

Pumpkin (Curcurbita maxima) is a popular vegetable in our country. This plant is locally known as
“Mistikumra”. The seeds of pumpkin are rich in oil and nutrients. The nutritional compositions of pumpkin seeds were determined by standard method. The proximate compositions of the powdered seed were moisture 4.06%, ash 3.80%, crude fibre 2.91%, total lipid 36.70%, total protein 34.56%, total soluble protein 18.10%, sugar 1.08%, and
starch 2.15%. The minerals composition of the seed were nitrogen 5.53%, phosphorus 0.71%, sodium 4.80 Cmol/kg,potassium 20.00 Cmol/kg, Calcium 4.40 Cmol/kg, Magnesium 348.7 ppm, iron 290.0 ppm, coper 70 ppm, zinc 39.9ppm, and manganese 17.9 ppm. It is used as a potentially attractive source of lipid, protein and crude fibre. The oil was extracted from seed of Cucurbita maxima by solvent extraction process using petroleum ether (40°-60°C). The oil content was found to be 12%. The specific gravity of the oil was estimated to be 0.9412 at 31°C. GLC analysis of
oil indicated that it contained highest amount of oleic acid 40.58%, while stearic acid, palmatic acid and linoleic acid contents were found to be 27.06%, 17.39% and 14.97% respectively. In addition, the iodine value, saponification value, saponification equivalent, acid value and percentage of free fatty acid of seed oil were determined by standard method and found to be 114.33, 193.73, 289.58, 0.516 and 0.2646% respectively. High degree of unsaturation makes it suitable for using as valuable drying agent, and lower free fatty acid content indicates suitability of the oil for probably edible purpose. Cururbita maxima seed oil is a rich source of linoleic acid, which is useful in human body.

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Volume 5 • Issue 4 • 1000374
J Nutr Food Sci
ISSN: 2155-9600 JNFS, an open access journal
Open Access
Thesis
Nutrition and Food
Sciences
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Habib et al., J Nutr Food Sci 2015, 5:4
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2155-9600.1000374
*Corresponding author: Dr. Matiar Rahman, Professor, Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205,
Bangladesh, Tel: 80-6874-2255; Fax: 88-0721-750064; E-mail: matiar_rahman@
yahoo.com; bioshahangir@gmail.com
Received March 27, 2015; Accepted May 16, 2015; Published May 19, 2015
Citation: Habib A, Biswas S, Siddique AH, Manirujjaman M, Uddin B, et al. (2015)
Nutritional and Lipid Composition Analysis of Pumpkin Seed (Cucurbita maxima
Linn.). J Nutr Food Sci 5: 374. doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000374
Copyright: © 2015 Habib A, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.
Nutritional and Lipid Composition Analysis of Pumpkin Seed (
Cucurbita
maxima Linn
.)
Ahsan Habib1, Shahangir Biswas1, Abdul Hai Siddique1, Manirujjaman M1,2, Belal Uddin1, Sohel Hasan1, Khan MMH1, Meftah Uddin1, Minarul
Islam1, Mahadi Hasan1, Muedur Rahman1, Asaduzzaman M1, Sohanur Rahman M1, Khatun M1, Islam MA1 and Matiar Rahman1*
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh
2Department of Biochemistry, Gono Bishwabidyalay (Gono University), Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Abstract
Pumpkin (Curcurbita maxima) is a popular vegetable in our country. This plant is locally known as
“Mistikumra”. The seeds of pumpkin are rich in oil and nutrients. The nutritional compositions of pumpkin seeds
were determined by standard method. The proximate compositions of the powdered seed were moisture 4.06%, ash
3.80%, crude bre 2.91%, total lipid 36.70%, total protein 34.56%, total soluble protein 18.10%, sugar 1.08%, and
starch 2.15%. The minerals composition of the seed were nitrogen 5.53%, phosphorus 0.71%, sodium 4.80 Cmol/kg,
potassium 20.00 Cmol/kg, Calcium 4.40 Cmol/kg, Magnesium 348.7 ppm, iron 290.0 ppm, coper 70 ppm, zinc 39.9
ppm, and manganese 17.9 ppm. It is used as a potentially attractive source of lipid, protein and crude bre. The oil
was extracted from seed of Cucurbita maxima by solvent extraction process using petroleum ether (40°-60°C). The
oil content was found to be 12%. The specic gravity of the oil was estimated to be 0.9412 at 31°C. GLC analysis of
oil indicated that it contained highest amount of oleic acid 40.58%, while stearic acid, palmatic acid and linoleic acid
contents were found to be 27.06%, 17.39% and 14.97% respectively. In addition, the iodine value, saponication
value, saponication equivalent, acid value and percentage of free fatty acid of seed oil were determined by standard
method and found to be 114.33, 193.73, 289.58, 0.516 and 0.2646% respectively. High degree of unsaturation
makes it suitable for using as valuable drying agent, and lower free fatty acid content indicates suitability of the oil for
probably edible purpose. Cururbita maxima seed oil is a rich source of linoleic acid, which is useful in human body.
Keywords: Curcurbita maxima; Nutrition; Lipid; Mistikumra; GLC;
Bangladesh
Introduction
Good health is achieved by eating the proper kinds of food
and vegetable. Well-balanced human foods and vegetables should
contain adequate amount of nutrients, the shortage of which leads to
malnutrition, which is common in West Africa [1]. Malnutrition is a
major health problem in Cameroon, despite government’s eorts to
promote food production. Protein-energy malnutrition in infant and
children is one of the most common nutritional problems in Cameroon
today [2].
A large number of populations in Bangladesh have been suering
from malnutrition. ere are many kinds of plants available in
Bangladesh, which are rich in nutrient. For the ignorance of people,
they do not know the nutritive value of dierent kinds of vegetables.
Cucurbita maxima seed has an important role as a source of lipids,
proteins, carbohydrates and other nutrients in human diet which are
necessary for maintaining proper health [3]. Cucurbita maxima seed
may be very important economic source of proteins, minerals, calories
and of vitamins, which are essential for human nutrition. Although the
seed of pumpkin is rich in oil and protein and the detailed study on their
composition and properties of their oil is limited. e objective of this
study was, therefore, the investigation of the nutritional composition
of pumpkin seed.
Fats and oils belong to the group of naturally occurring compounds
called lipids (Greek, lipos = fat.). Lipids are the constituent of animal
and plant cell, which are soluble in organic solvent such as ether,
chloroform, benzene, hexane etc., but insoluble in water. Fats and oils
are the most important lipids found in nature, which yield long-chain
fatty acid and glycerol upon hydrolysis.
ey are one of the three major ‘Food groups’ needed for human
body, the other two being proteins and carbohydrates. Fats and oils
are widely distributed in food and are of great nutritional value. ey
provide concentrated reserve of energy in animal body for maintaining
optimum body temperature. One gram of metabolized fat or oil yields
9 Kcal .While the corresponding value of carbohydrate and protein is
4 Kcal. and 5.5 Kcal respectively [4]. At present, human race uses an
estimated 40 million tons of fats and oils in a year which reects both
their nutritional and industrial importance; and it is increasing daily in
a very large magnitude. Drying oils are mainly used for making paints
and varnishes; and also used for making linoleum and oil cloth. Some
common drying oils are tung oil, linseed oil, perilla oil etc., used as
cooking oil. Coconut oil, sesame oil, almond oil is also used as hair
oil. Non-drying oils are used as materials of food, cooking oil and
condiment. Some common non-drying oils are almond oil, palm oil,
olive oil, lard, beef, mutton tallow oil etc.
e proximate compositions evaluation from the seed of C.
maxima reveals protein 33.48%, carbohydrate 28.68%, lipid 30.66%,
ber 3.07%, ash 3.98%, and available energy 524.58 Kcal [5]. Isolation
of oil has been reported from seed of several plants in order to make
their utilization properly. e extracts of Cucurbita maxima seed show
antidiabetic, anti-hyperlipidemic lowering both total cholesterol and

Citation: Habib A, Biswas S, Siddique AH, Manirujjaman M, Uddin B, et al. (2015) Nutritional and Lipid Composition Analysis of Pumpkin Seed
(Cucurbita maxima Linn.). J Nutr Food Sci 5: 374. doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000374
Page 2 of 6
Volume 5 • Issue 4 • 1000374
J Nutr Food Sci
ISSN: 2155-9600 JNFS, an open access journal
triglyceride and at the same time increase HDL-cholesterol in STZ-
induced diabetic rats [6].
ere has been evidence in recent years that the presence of large
amount of saturated fat in the diet may lead to an increase in the level
of cholesterol in blood, while the high oil content of the diet tends to
diminish cholesterol level in blood.
e above-mentioned investigations and reports make us much
interested to carry out research work on fats and oils from pumpkin
seed.
Materials and Methods
Collection and processing
Cucurbita maxima, commonly known as “Mistikumra” in our
country, was collected in 2007 from experimental plot located at
Naoudapara, in the district of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. It was cultivated in
homogeneous condition. e seeds were dissected from the vegetable
and foreign materials were removed. Aer then, the seeds were dried
in the sunlight for four consecutive days and crushed into ne powder.
e powder material was dried at 60°C for 3 hours by electric oven.
All chemicals were used of analytical grade unless otherwise and the
results were depicted as the mean value of the three replicates on dry
weight basis.
Determination of moisture contents of Cucurbita maxima seed:
Moisture content was determined by the conventional procedure
ICOMR [7].
Determination of ash content of Cucurbita maxima seed: Ash
content was determined following the method of AOAC [8].
Determination of crude bre: Crude bre is the organic residue, which
remains aer the food sample has been treated under standardized
condition with petroleum spirit, boiling dilute sulphuric acid, boiling
dilute sodium hydroxide solution and alcohol. e crude bre consists
largely of cellulose together with a little lignin [9].
Determination of lipid content of Cucurbita maxima seed: Lipid
content of Cucurbita maxima seed powder was determined by the
method of Bligh and Dyer [10].
Determination of total protein: Total protein content of seed of
Cucurbita maxima was determined by the micro-kjeldahl method
Ranganna [11].
Determination of water-soluble protein: Water-soluble protein
content of the Cucurbirta maxima seed was determined following
the method of Lowry et al. [12]. e extraction was carried out with
distilled water.
Determination of total sugar content of Cucurbita maxima seed:
Total sugar content of Cucurbita maxima seed was determined
colorimetrically by the anthrone method as described in Laboratory
Manual in Biochemistry Jayaraman, [13].
Determination of starch content of Cucurbita maxima seed: e
starch content of the Cucurbita maxima seed was determined by the
Anthrone method, as described in Laboratory Manuel in Biochemistry
Jayaraman, [14].
Determination of minerals: We placed a clean container (dish or
beaker) in an oven at 105°C overnight. e container was allowed to
cool in a desiccator and weighed, aer which the sample was placed
into the container and weighed again. e container was placed in
an oven at 105°C for 24 hours, aer which it was allowed to cool and
weighed again. e whole process was repeated until the weight become
constant. We store the dried sample in an airtight container and
calculated the moisture content in the sample. e sample was grinded
in a plant grinder tted with a suitable screen. If the grinding takes a
long time, the sample may absorb moisture. In such a case, it would be
necessary to dry the sample again in an oven at 105°C overnight.
Determination of total Nitrogen: Total nitrogen was determined by
the Kjeldahl Method, described earlier in the determination of total
protein [15].
Determination of Ca, Mg, K, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and P: Organic
matter is digested and Ca, Mg, K. Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and P are
released by digestion with nitric acid. Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu are
determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry.
Determination of Ca, Mg, K, Na and P
Measurement of Ca: 20 ml diluted ltrate was transferred from 50
ml ltrate to a 100 ml volumetric ask. e ask was made up to volume
with distilled water and mixed. e content of Ca was measured by
atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS). If the reading was higher than
the reading of the highest standard solution, made a larger dilution, e.g.
10 ml ltrate into a 50 ml volumetric ask. In this case 1:100 diluted
HNO3 had to be added to the volumetric ask to make the total volume
of 1:100 diluted HNO3 and ltrate equal to 20 ml.
Measurement of Mg: 5 ml diluted ltrate was transferred into a
50 ml volumetric ask using a pipette. 5 ml LaCl3 solution (pipette)
was added and made up to volume with water and mixed. Measure the
content of Mg by atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS). If the reading
was higher than the reading of the highest standard solution, made a
larger dilution, e.g. 2 ml ltrate into a 50 ml volumetric ask, In this
case 1:100 diluted HNO3 ml had to be added to the volumetric ask to
make the total volume of 1:100 diluted HNO3 and ltrate equal to 5 ml.
Measurement of K and Na: 10 ml diluted ltrate was transferred
into a 50 ml volumetric ask using a pipette. e ask was made up to
volume with water and mixed. e content of K and Na was measured
by ame photometer. If the reading was higher than the reading of
the highest standard solution, we made a larger dilution, e.g. 5 ml
volumetric ask. In this case 0:100 diluted HNO3 had to be added to
the volumetric ask to make the total volume of 1:100 diluted HNO3
and ltrate equal to 10 ml.
Measurement of P: 5 ml diluted ltrate (pipette) was transferred to
a 50 ml volumetric ask. Approximately 30 ml of water was added and
mixed, again 10 ml ammonium molybdate-ascorbic was also added
and it was made up to volume with water and mixed. Aer 15 minutes,
the absorbance was measured on a spectrophotometer at 890 nm, if the
absorbance was higher than that of the highest standard solution. e
procedure was repeated using a smaller amount of ltrate. In this case
1:100 diluted HNO3 had to be added to the volumetric ask to make
the total volume of 1:100 HNO3 and ltrate equal to 5 ml. If the content
of P is very high, it is necessary to dilute the ltrate further before the
transfer to the 50 ml ask. e dilution is made with water using pipette
and volumetric ask. Aer transferring of 5 ml diluted ltrate to the
50 ml volumetric ask. 5 ml 1:100 diluted HNO3 and water to approx.
30 ml are added. en 10 ml ammonium molybdate-ascorbic acid is
added, the 50 ml volumetric ask is made to volume with water and the
absorbance is measured at 890 nm aer 15 minutes.
Measurement of Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu: e content of these elements
were measured by atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) directly in
the undiluted ltrate.

Citation: Habib A, Biswas S, Siddique AH, Manirujjaman M, Uddin B, et al. (2015) Nutritional and Lipid Composition Analysis of Pumpkin Seed
(Cucurbita maxima Linn.). J Nutr Food Sci 5: 374. doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000374
Page 3 of 6
Volume 5 • Issue 4 • 1000374
J Nutr Food Sci
ISSN: 2155-9600 JNFS, an open access journal
Extraction of oil
Extraction of oil was done by the method of Southcombe et al. [16].
e powdered seed was placed in a thimble of the soxhlet extractor. e
lower end of the soxhlet was attached to the mouth of a round bottom
ask containing petroleum ether (b.p. 40°-60°C) as an extraction solvent.
e extraction of oil was completed in twelve cycles. e petroleum ether
extract so obtained was evaporated under reduced pressure to obtain oil.
Purication of crude oil
Purication of crude oil was done by the method of Ekramul et al
[17]. About 100 g of oil was taken in a separating funnel followed by
the addition of 100 ml of water, 200 ml of ether and 25 ml of saturated
sodium chloride solution. e content of the separating funnel was
shaken well and allowed to stand for some time until two distinct
layers were separated. Discarding the aqueous layer, the organic layer
was again shaken with 100 ml of distilled water and 25 ml of saturated
solution of sodium chloride and was allowed to stand. e ether layer
was separated and subjected to similar treatment once more. Finally,
the resulting ether extract was taken in a conical ask and dried over
anhydrous sodium sulfate. e extract was then evaporated by a rotary
evaporator at 40°C to get the puried oil.
Determination of specic gravity
Specic gravity of oil was measured by standard test method for
specic gravity of oils and liquid fats [18]. Specic gravity of a substance
represents how much heavier the substance to the same volume of water
at a particular temperature and it may be dened as the ratio of the
weight of the denite volume of substance to the weight of the denite
volume of water at a particular temperature. e specic gravity bottle
was cleaned carefully, dried and weighed when empty. e bottle was
then lled with distilled water and holding it in an inclined position
to avoid the formation of bubbles. It was then immersed in a constant
temperature water bath at 30°C with its stoppered, just outside the level
of water. e bottle was removed from the bath, wiped dry with a clean
cloth and allowed to stand for some time and then weighed.
e bottle was then emptied, cleaned, dried and lled with the
oil; care was taken to avoid the formation of bubbles. e bottle with
its content was subjected to similar treatment at 30°C, as was done
previously with distilled water and was nally weighed.
Fatty acid composition of oil
Fatty acid composition of the pumpkin seed oil was analyzed by
4500 U-Pye-Unicam gas chromatogram, following the procedure
described below [19].
Determination of Iodine value of Pumpkin seed oil
e iodine value of oil was measured by the method Hanus et al.
[20].
Determination of saponication value and saponication
equivalent
A weighted quantity of the oil was saponied with a known amount
of potassium hydroxide, excess of which was determined by titration
[21].
Saponication equivalent
Saponication equivalent of a fat or oil is the number of grams of
material saponied by one mole of potassium hydroxide.
Determination of acid value and percentage of free fatty acid
e acid value of a fat or oil is the number of milligrams of
potassium hydroxide required to neutralize 1 g of the fat or oil. It is a
measured the number of free fatty acid presents it [22].
A weighed quantity of material was titrated in a suitable solvent
with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution under conditions, which do
not saponication of the neutral portion.
Free fatty acid
e percentage of free fatty acid was calculated using the following
formula Percent of free fatty acid
Acid value
1.99
=
Results and Discussion
Moisture
Moisture content of Cucurbita maxima was presented in Table
1, the result shows that the Cucurbita maxima seed contains 4.06℅
moisture. Moisture plays an important part in the growth of trees.
Water is indispensable for the absorption and transport of food, to
carry out photosynthesis, to metabolize materials and to regulate
moisture in plants, as in all other living systems [23].
It contributes as much as to the essential properties of life as do the
other constituents like protein, carbohydrate. Moisture is also essential
for most of the physiological reactions in plant tissue and in its absence
life does not exist [24].
Ash
Ash content of Cucurbita maxima seed is presented in Table 1.
Most of the inorganic constituents or minerals are present in ash. e
seed was found to contain about 3.80% ash, which was lower than the
values 4.62% for Teramnus labialis seed Viswanathan et al., totally [25].
Crude bre
Fibre is an important component of many complex carbohydrates.
It is always found only in plants particularly vegetables, fruits, nuts
and legumes. As shown in Table 1, crude bre content of the cucurbita
maxima seed was found to be 2.91% which was lower than the of 4.68-
6.92g% for cassia hirsute seed [26].
Lipid content
Lipid is more useful in animal body. Fat serves as ecient source
of energy and insoluble material. Dietary fat helps in the absorption of
fat soluble vitamins, lipoproteins are important cellular constituents.
Lipids are essential components of cell membrane, source of metabolic
energy for cell maintenance, reproduction and embryogenesis in insect.
As shown in Table 1, Cucurbita maxima seed contains total lipids
Parameters Moisture Ash Crude bre Total Lipid Total Protein Total Soluble Protein Sugar Starch
Content % 4.06 3.8 2.91 36.7 34.56 18.1 1.08 2.15
Table 1: Nutrient composition of Cucurbita maxima seed.

Citation: Habib A, Biswas S, Siddique AH, Manirujjaman M, Uddin B, et al. (2015) Nutritional and Lipid Composition Analysis of Pumpkin Seed
(Cucurbita maxima Linn.). J Nutr Food Sci 5: 374. doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000374
Page 4 of 6
Volume 5 • Issue 4 • 1000374
J Nutr Food Sci
ISSN: 2155-9600 JNFS, an open access journal
36.70 g% which is much higher than the values 4.00 g% of Cassia stula
seeds Zaka, [26] and 9.58 g% of Xylopiaaethiopica seeds bar minas,
[27]. From the results, it may be concluded that the Cucurbita maxima
seed is an important source of lipid.
Total protein
Total protein of Cucurbita maxima seed was quantied to be 34.56
g% which is higher than the value of 7.12 g% for Attalea cohune seed
(Williams), and the value of 27.50 g% for Viciafaba seed Vetter, [28].
Total soluble protein
e result for protein content of Cucurbita maxima seed obtained
from our experiment is given in Table 1.e result shows that the
Cucurbita maxima seed contains 18.10% total soluble protein. e
protein constituents are of primary importance not only as component
of nuclear and cytoplasmic structures, but also as complement of
enzyme involved in metabolism during growth, Percent of protein
content (g per 100 g of Cucurbita maxima seed) (Figure 1).
Total sugar content
Carbohydrate plays an important role on the physiological activities
of the plants. Glucose and glycogen serve as important source of energy
for vital activities. Some carbohydrates have highly specic function.
e experimental data is presented in Table 1, from this it was
found that the total sugar content was estimated to be 1.08 g%, which is
lower than that for Brazil nuts 1.9 g% Williams, [29] (Figure 2).
Starch content of
C. maxima
seed
Starch is the most important source of carbohydrate in human diet.
It is found in most plants, particularly in the seeds, where it serves as
the nutritional reserve of carbohydrate. Starch content was determined
and found to be 2.15g% (shown in Table 1), which is lower than that of
5.25 g% loofah seeds Devine, [30].
Minerals content of C. maxima seed
Minerals are inorganic substance required by the organism in
very small amount for their growth and maintenance of functional
activity. Food and vegetables are the important source of mineral for
human beings and exist in food as organic and inorganic combination.
In foods mineral elements are present as salt. ey combined with
organic compound, e.g. iron in hemoglobin. Minerals are required for
the teeth and bone formation. Minute amount of mineral elements
are constituent of various regulatory compounds such as, vitamins,
enzymes and hormones. For example, some enzymes require calcium
for their activity as lipases and succinate dehydrogenases. Iron requiring
enzymes are ferredox in catalase, indophenol oxidase, aldehyde oxidase
etc. the mineral elements present in the intra and extra cellular uid
maintained water and acid-base balance. ey regulate transmission
of impulses and contraction of muscles. e deciencies of minerals
create many diseases in human beings. e amount of N, Ca, Mg, K,
Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and P present in the C. maxima seed is shown in
Table 2.
Determination of specic gravity
Specic gravity of fats and oils do not vary as a general rule to an
extent, which makes this property useful in discriminating between one
to another the specic gravity of practically all fats or oils lie between
0.900 and 0.950 [31].
Specic gravity of the oil was determined by strand method and
was found to be 0.9412 at 31°C.
Fatty acid composition of the oil
Fatty acid analysis of the pumpkin seed oil by GLC was carried out
aer transestercation of the glycerides to their methyl esters. e fatty
acid composition of the oil samples is presented in Table 2 and gas
chromatograms are shown in Figure 3. From the Table 2 it is found
that pumpkin seed oil contains the highest amount of oleic acid 40.58%
while stearic acid, palmitic acid and Linoleic acid content are found to
be 27.06, 17.39 and 14.97%, respectively. e GLC data also indicates
that the pumpkin seed oil contains higher amount of unsaturated acid
fatty acids 55.55%, while saturated fatty acid is found to be 44.45%.
From the present investigation it may be suggested that pumpkin
seed oil contains essential fatty acid viz., Linoleic acid, which is useful
in human body and properly rened oil may also be used as edible oil.
Determination of Iodine value
Iodine value gives the estimation of the amount of unsaturated
fatty acid in the triglyceride molecule of fat and oil. e iodine value
was measured by the Hanus method and was found to be 114.33,
which is lower than the values of (136.9-137.9) [32] and (137.1-138.0)
for tobacco seed oil, and also to the value of 173 for Ocimum pilosun
Figure 1: Standard curve of protein for the estimation of water soluble protein.
Figure 2: Standard curve of glucose for the estimation of total sugar (as
glucose).
Parameters N P Na K Ca Mg Fe Cu Zn Mn
% Cmol/kg ppm
Amount 5.53% 0.71% 5 20 4 349 290 70 40 18
Table 2: Amount of Mineral in Cucurbita maxima seed.

Citation: Habib A, Biswas S, Siddique AH, Manirujjaman M, Uddin B, et al. (2015) Nutritional and Lipid Composition Analysis of Pumpkin Seed
(Cucurbita maxima Linn.). J Nutr Food Sci 5: 374. doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000374
Page 5 of 6
Volume 5 • Issue 4 • 1000374
J Nutr Food Sci
ISSN: 2155-9600 JNFS, an open access journal
seed oil. In general, the higher degree of unsaturation i.e. the higher
iodine value, the greater is the liability of the oil or fat to become rancid
by oxidation. erefore, seed oil in pumpkin has higher tendency to
become rancid by oxidation.
Saponication value and saponication equivalent
Saponication value is inversely proportional to the average
molecular weight or chain length of the fatty acid present in the fat
or oil. Oils and fats consisting largely of C18 fatty acids generally
have saponication value around 290.80, indicating the presence of
appreciable quantity of higher fatty acids.
e saponication of pumpkin seed oil was determined to be
193.73 whereas the saponication equivalent was calculated from
saponication value to be 289.58. e saponication value of this seed
oil is higher than those of (189.20-190.50) for the tobacco seed oil and
(186.37-188.40) for Cassia stula seed oil.
ese comparatively high saponication values indicate the
presence of low proportion of lower fatty acids. e present result also
indicates that pumpkin seed oil contains high proportion of higher
chain fatty acid than those of tobacco oil and cassia stula seed oil.
Acid value and percentage of free fatty acid
Acid value is measured of the free fatty acids present in the oils or
fats and diers from the determination of the “free fatty acids” only in
the interpretation and manner of expression. e assumption usually
being made in a calculation that the acid have a molecular weight equal
to that of oleic acid. A high acid value may indicate a higher tendency
to become rancid. A high percentage of free fatty acid (above 1.15%)
indicates that the oil is not suitable for edible purpose. In present
investigation, the acid value of the pumpkin seed oil was found to be
0.516. e percentage of free fatty acid of seed oil was calculated from
acid value and found to be 0.2646%. Hence the acid value of this seed oil
was much lower than the value (1.90-2.30) for tobacco oil. e present
result suggests that pumpkin seed oil is suitable for edible purposes, as
the amount of free fatty acid was found to be lower than 1.15%.
Conclusion
Cururbita maxima, commonly known as Mistikumra, is cultivated
all the districts of Bangladesh to satisfy nutritional requirements.
Having a database of the analysis of cultivated plants available in
the region would be of value to educator and public health ocials
positioned to provide dietary advice to the food stressed population.
From the nutritional analysis, it was found that the seeds of
Cucurbita maxima are rich in lipid 36.70%, protein 34.56% and crude
bre 2.91%. erefore, it may be used as potentially attractive source
of lipid, protein and crude bre. In addition, the seed is a good source
of minerals like nitrogen, phosphorus, sodium, calcium, copper, zinc,
magnesium, potassium, and iron that are important for our health. e
seed may also be used as fertilizer since it contains 5.53% nitrogen.
Cucurbita maxima seed yields 12% of oil. Analysis of seed oil
implied higher degree of unsaturation possessing comparatively high
iodine value (144.33). High degree of unsaturation makes it suitable
for the use as valuable drying agent, and lower free fatty acid content
indicates suitability of the oil for probably edible purpose. Results of
fatty acid composition reveal that Cururbita maxima seed oil is a rich
source of linoleic acid, which is useful in human body (Table 3).
On the basis of the above discussion, it can be concluded that the
seed of pumpkin can be used as an important nutritional source for
the people of Bangladesh or in the area present malnutrition. On the
other hand, the oil can be utilized in paint, varnish and ink industries.
Again, the seed oil can be suitable for human consumption aer proper
rening, and may provide a relief from the oil crisis.
Competing Interest
ere is no conict of interest
Acknowledgements
This study was carried out in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, Rajshahi University and supported by the University Grant Commission
(UGC), Bangladesh.
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Citation: Habib A, Biswas S, Siddique AH, Manirujjaman M, Uddin B, et al. (2015) Nutritional and Lipid Composition Analysis of Pumpkin Seed
(Cucurbita maxima Linn.). J Nutr Food Sci 5: 374. doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000374
Page 6 of 6
Volume 5 • Issue 4 • 1000374
J Nutr Food Sci
ISSN: 2155-9600 JNFS, an open access journal
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Citation: Habib A, Biswas S, Siddique AH, Manirujjaman M, Uddin B, et al.
(2015) Nutritional and Lipid Composition Analysis of Pumpkin Seed (Cucurbita
maxima Linn.). J Nutr Food Sci 5: 374. doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000374
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