Phytochemical and Pharmacological Aspects of Cucurbita moschata and Moringa oleifera

Abstract

Presently research on herbal drug has attracted a lot of attention globally. The herbal drugs are consisting of phytoconstituents that offer therapeutic effects against various diseases. Till date researchers reported significant potential of herbal drugs employed in various traditional, complementary and alternative systems. The pharmacological activity and phytochemical of several medicinal plants has been scientifically documented. Cucurbita moschata and Moringa oleifera are the medicinal plant and used as nutraceuticals, food supplements, folk medicines, pharmaceutical intermediates and chemical entities for synthetic drug. The present review is useful for up-to date investigations on the medicinal activity of Cucurbita moschata and Moringa oleifera.

Full text

UK Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biosciences Vol. 6(6), 45-53, 2018 REVIEW ARTICLE
Phytochemical and Pharmacological Aspects of Cucurbita moschata and Moringa
oleifera
Sandhya Suresh*, S S Sisodia
Bhupal Nobles‘ College of Pharmacy, Udaipur-313001, Rajasthan, India
Article Information
Received 25 October 2018
Received in revised form 28 Dec 2018
Accepted 30 December 2018
Abstract
Presently research on herbal drug has attracted a lot of attention globally. The herbal drugs
are consisting of phytoconstituents that offer therapeutic effects against various diseases. Till
date researchers reported significant potential of herbal drugs employed in various traditional,
complementary and alternative systems. The pharmacological activity and phytochemical of
several medicinal plants has been scientifically documented. Cucurbita moschata and
Moringa oleifera are the medicinal plant and used as nutraceuticals, food supplements, folk
medicines, pharmaceutical intermediates and chemical entities for synthetic drug. The
present review is useful for up-to date investigations on the medicinal activity of Cucurbita
moschata and Moringa oleifera.
Keywords:
Pharmacological activity,
Medicinal plants,
Cucurbita moschata,
Moringa oleifera
Corresponding Author:
E-mail : sandhyasuresh110@gmail.com
Mob.: +919571677017
1 Introduction
The plant kingdom is a chief source of synthetic and herbal
drugs. In the recent years there has been an increasing
awareness about the importance of medicinal plants. Drugs
from the plants are easily available, less expensive, safe,
efficient and minimum side effects. Plants are the richest
resource of drugs of traditional systems of medicine, modern
medicines, nutraceuticals, food supplements, folk medicines,
pharmaceutical intermediates and chemical entities for synthetic
drug1.
Additionally the worldwide medicinal plants as a substitute for
conventional drugs in the management of different diseases has
been increasing due to the unavailability of modern health
facilities, relative availability of medicinal herbs, poverty, and
recent revelations that they possess active compounds that may
be responsible for different biological and pharmacological
actions2.
The secondary metabolite namely alkaloids, cardiac glycosides,
steroids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids etc are present in
different parts of the plant and imparts various types of
pharmacological activity. It is estimated that more than 250,000
to 500,000 species of higher plants on globe level were
suggested as medicinal plants. The people living in the
developing countries are depending on traditional and
complementary medicines for their basic health care. Hence,
the objective of this review is to summarize to date scientific
studies on the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of
Cucurbita moschata and Moringa oleifera.
2 Cucurbita moschata
Medicinal plants are the gifts of the nature to cure limitless
number of diseases among human beings. It played a crucial
role in maintaining human health and improving the quality of
human life for thousands of years. The use of plants as
medicine is increasing in the developed world because they
have minor or no side effects. In India, medicinal plants are
widely used by all sections of people either directly as folk
medicines or in different indigenous systems of medicines or
indirectly in the pharmaceutical preparations of modern
medicines.
Cucurbita moschata is an important horticultural crop that
belongs to family Cucurbitaceae, also known as cucurbits. The
Cucurbitaceae family consists of 90 genera and approximately
700 species.The Cucurbitaceae are characterised by long
flexible stems, a crawling or climbing growth habit and fruit that
differ widely in colour and shape, having a thick and
impermeable skin protecting a juicy fibrous pulp. Five species
UK Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biosciences
Available at www.ukjpb.com
ISSN: 2347-9442

Suresh, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Aspects of Cucurbita moschata and Moringa oleifera
UK J Pharm & Biosci, 2018: 6(6); 46
are grown worldwide for their edible fruit, variously known as
squash, pumpkin, or gourd depending on species, variety, and
local parlance, and for their seeds3 (Fig. 1).
Fig 1: fruit and seeds of Cucurbita moschata
Cucurbita moschata commonlly called ‘Kadoo’ in Hindi while
squash in English. It grows as a large annual vine and has
large, showy, yellow-orange flowers and round, lobed leaves,
often with fine hairy prickles. Cucurbita or Pumpkin has received
considerable attention in recent years because of the nutritional
and health protective value of the seeds as well as the
polysaccharides from the fruits. Pumpkin fruit is widely grown
low-calorie vegetables that are rich in carotenoid content, vital
antioxidants, carbohydrates, vitamin A, flavonoid, polyphenolic
antioxidants such as lutein, xanthin. Pumpkin have a lot of
health benefits such as antidiabetic, anticancer,
antihypertension, antioxidant, antitumor, immunomodulation,
anti-inflammation, antihyperlipidemic, and antimicrobial.
Consumption of pumpkin helps to prevent skin diseases, eye
disorders reducing cell damage in the body, cancer and improve
immune function.
The Pumpkin seed is excellent source of protein and also has
pharmacological activities such as antidiabetic, antifungal,
antibacterial, anti-inflammation activities and antioxidant effects.
It has obtained considerable attention in recent years because
of the nutritional and health protective values of the seeds.
Pumpkin seed oil contains mono and polyunsaturated fatty
acids as well as saturated ones like palmitic acid, stearic acid,
oleic acid and linoleic acid4,5.
2.1 Botanical classification
Kingdom - Plantae
Division - Tracheophyta
Class - Magnoliopsida
Order - Cucurbitales
Family - Cucurbitaceae
Genus - Cucurbita
Species - Cucurbita moschata
2.2 Vernacular names
Common name - Pumpkin, Squash
Hindi - Kaddu, Kashiphal, Petha
Tamil - Pucani
Kannada - Kumbala kaayi
Malayalum - Kumpalam
Marathi - kashiphal, kala bhopala
Assamese - Kumra
Telugu - Gummadi
Bengali - Kumara
Urdu - Kaddu
2.3 Geographical distribution
Cucurbita moschata is a species originating in either Central
America or northern South America. It is also found in North
America, Australia and different countries of Africa (Zambia,
Nigeria), Asia (China, India and Iran) and Europe(Spain and
Turkey).
2.4 Botanical description
Cucurbita moschata is an annual herb with climbing, creeping
5-angled stems up to 15 m long. The leaves are simple,
alternate, broadly ovate to deltoid, basally cordate, apically
acute, palmately lobed with 5-7 lobes, marginally toothed,
Velvety-hairy, scabrous, palmately veined, 20-30 cm long, and
10-35 cm broad.
Stems are scabrous and setose, branching, often rooting at the
nodes. Petioles are setose, grooved, 6-24 cm long, and
estipulate. The plant bears tendrils borne at 90 degrees to the
leaf insertion, which are coiled, and 1-6-branched.
The shallow root system is branched, growing from a well-
developed taproot.

Suresh, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Aspects of Cucurbita moschata and Moringa oleifera
UK J Pharm & Biosci, 2018: 6(6); 47
Flowers are solitary, unisexual, regular, 5-merous, large, 10–20
cm in diameter, lemon yellow to deep orange; sepals free,
subulate to linear, 1–3 cm long; corolla campanulate, with
widely spreading lobes. single axillary flowers (male typically
long-stalked with three stamens and female typically short-
stalked with 3 two-lobed stigmas) are creamy white to orange-
yellow and bloom in late spring. Stalks tend to thicken at the
points were the fruits appear. Fruits generally have distinctive
orange flesh. Plants produces a variety of fruits which vary
considerably in size and shape. Fruit a large, globose to ovoid
or cylindrical berry, weighing up to 10 kg, with a wide range of
colours, often covered with green spots and grey stripes, with
small, raised, wartlike spots; flesh yellow to orange, many-
seeded; fruit stalk enlarged at apex. Seeds obovoid, flattened,
1-2 cm × 0.5-1 cm, usually white or tawny, sometimes dark-
coloured, surface smooth to somewhat rough, margin
prominent6,7.
2.5 Chemical constituents
The chemical composition of the pumpkin pulp varied between
75.8 and 91.33% moisture, 0.2 and 2.7% crude protein, 0.47
and 2.1% crude ash and 3.1 and 13% carbohydrate content.
Pumpkin fruits contain polysaccharides, vitamins (including β-
carotene, vitamin A, vitamin B2, α-tocopherol, vitamin C, vitamin
E), proteins, essential amino acids ( alanine, arginine, aspartic
acid, glutamic acid, histidine, leucine, isoleucine, glycine, lysine,
methionine, phenylalanine, serine, threonine, valine and
tyrosine), valuable antioxidants, phenolics, flavonoids,
carotenoids and minerals (especially potassium). Pumpkin is
high in β-carotene, which gives it yellow or orange color. Beta-
carotene in plants that have a pleasant yellow-orange color is a
major source of vitamin A. It is also high in carbohydrates and
minerals8,9.
Seeds of pumpkin are rich in oil and the variability in the oil.
Pumpkin seeds have a high nutritional value, provides good
quality oil, and excellent source of protein. Due to the presence
of highly unsaturated fatty acids ( palmitic acid, stearic acid,
oleic acid and linoleic acid). Pumpkin seed oil is rich in many
antioxidants and essential nutritional components like essential
fatty acids (FAs), vitamins, squalene, carotenoids, tocopherols,
phytoestrogenes, phytosterols, polyphenols, hydrocarbon,
triterpenoids and selenium. Pumpkins are rich source of
calcium, iron, vitamin A, oil (25 -55%), rich in unsaturated oleic
and linoleic acids, protein (25 - 35%) with high amounts of
arginine, aspartate andglutamic acid, but deficient in lysine and
sulphur containing amino acids10.
2.6 Traditional uses
Pumpkin helps to prevent skin diseases, measles, jaundice,
insomenia,colic, eye disorders reducing cell damage in the
body, cancer and improve immune function.
Pumpkin seed oil can retard the progression of hypertension
and mitigate hypercholesterolemia, arthritis, reduced bladder
and urethral pressure. Pumpkin seed oil has been foundto
alleviate diabetes by promoting hypoglycemic activity. Pumpkin
seeds have also been associated with lower levels of gastric,
breast, lung, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer11,12.
2.8 Pharmacological activities
The pumpkin has pharmacological activities such as anti-
diabetic, antihypertension, antitumor, immunomodulation,
antifungal, antibacterial and antiinflammation activities, and
antioxidant effects (Table -1).
3 Moringa oleifera
Moringa oleifera belongs to the family Moringaceae, commonly
known as the ‘drumstick’ or ‘horseradish’ tree. It is an affordable
and readily available source of major essential nutrients and
nutraceuticals, and it has the potential to eradicate malnutrition.
Moringa oleifera is native to the sub-Himalayan tracts of India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. All parts of the Moringa
tree are edible and have long been consumed by humans25.
Drumstick is recognized as a vibrant and affordable source of
phytochemicals, having potential applications in medicines,
functional food preparations, water purification, and biodiesel
production. The multiple biological activities including
antiproliferation, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory,
antinociceptive, antiatherosclerotic, oxidative DNA damage
protective, antiperoxidative, cardioprotective. Moringa
oleifera are attributed to the presence of functional bioactive
compounds, such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids,
phytosterols, natural sugars, vitamins, minerals, and organic
acids (Fig 2).
3.1 Botanical classification
Kingdom - Plantae
Division - Magnoliophyta
Class - Magnoliopsida
Order - Capparales
Family - Moringaceae
Genus - Moringa
Species - Moringa oleifera
3.2 Vernacular names
Common name - Drumstick, horseradish tree
Hindi - Senjana
Tamil - Murungai Maram
Kannada - Nuggekayee
Malayalum - Muringa

Suresh, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Aspects of Cucurbita moschata and Moringa oleifera
UK J Pharm & Biosci, 2018: 6(6); 48
Marathi - Shevga
Assamese - Sojina
Telugu - Munagachettu
Bengali - Sojne danta
3.3 Geographical distribution
The drumstick tree is a small fast growing ornamental tree
which is native to India, Ethiopia, the Philippines and the
Sudan, and is being grown in West, East and South Africa,
tropical Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Florida and the
Pacific Islands. The trees are said to have been originated from
Agra and Oudh in North Western region of India to South of the
Himalayan Mountains. They are cultivated in Asian, African,
Middle Eastern and South American regions26.
3.4 Botanical description
Moringa oleifera is a fast-growing, deciduous tree. It can reach
a height of 10–12 m (32–40 ft) and the trunk can reach a
diameter of 45 cm (1.5 ft).
The bark has a whitish-grey colour and is surrounded by thick
cork. Young shoots have purplish or greenish-white, hairy bark.
The tree has an open crown of drooping, fragile branches and
the leaves build up feathery foliage of tripinnate leaves.
Table 1: Reported pharmacological activities of Cucurbita moschata
Extract
Pharmacological activity
References
Fruit
Phenolic phytochemicals have anti-diabetic effects in terms of b-glucosidase
and a-amylase inhibition
13Kwon et al.
Fruit
Purification and characterization of an antifungal PR-5 protein which reduced
tumour weight in S-180-bearing mice.
14Cheong et al.
Seeds
Purification and characterization of moschatin which efficiently inhibits the
growth of targeted melanoma cells M21.
15Xia et al.
Fruit
Isolated protein-bound polysaccharide have anti-diabetic effects in diabetic rats
16Quanhong et al.
Fruit
Showed a broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against several bacteria
17Rajakaruna et al.
Seeds
Beta-carotene has anti-inflammatory properties and regular consumption of
pumpkin seeds can protect against joint inflammation
18Wang et al.
Fruit peel
Antioxidant and burn wound healing activities
19Bahramsoltani et al.
Fruit and seeds
Antidiabetic effect in STZ-induced diabetic mice
20Marbun et al.
Fruit and seeds
Effectiveness of Pumpkin Flesh and Seeds Toward Diabetic Mice
21Marbun et al.
Flower
Antimicrobial activity
22Muruganantham et
al.
Leaves
Antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae
and Escherichia coli.
23del Castillo et al.
Fruit extracts
Anti-inflammatory and antiulcer activity
24Govindan et al.
Leaves are alternate, compound tripinnate, petiole slender,
leaflets opposite, entire, elliptic, all parts stalked, pale beneath,
glands linear, hairy. lowers are fragrant and bisexual,
surrounded by five unequal, thinly veined, yellowish-white
petals.
The flowers are about 1.0-1.5 cm (1/2") long and 2.0 cm (3/4")
broad. They grow on slender, hairy stalks in spreading or
drooping later flower clusters which have a length of 10– 25 cm.
The flowers are fragrant and bisexual, surrounded by five
unequal, thinly veined, yellowish-white petals. The flowers are
about 1.0-1.5 cm (1/2") long and 2.0 cm (3/4") broad. Ovary
hairy, style slender, tubular, stigma truncate, perforated. Ovules
many, 2-seriate on each placenta. Fruit a one-celled,
loculicidally 3-valved capsule, pendulous, greenish, 22.5-50.0
cm in length, triangular, 9-ribbed. Seeds many in the
depressions of the valves, trigonous, winged; albumen absent,
embryo straight27.
3.5 Chemical constituents
Moringa oleifera is found to contain non-nutritive chemicals
which they use as self-defense mechanism also known as
Phytochemicals. These phytochemicals include catechol
tannins, gallic tannins, steroids, triterpenoids, flavonoids,
saponins, antraquinones, alkaloids and reducinfg sugars.

Fig 2: Flowers, fruits, leaves and tree of Moringa oleifera
Moringa oleifera is rich in compounds containing the
simple sugar, rhamnose called glucosinolates and
isothiocyanates. The stem contains: 4-hydroxymellein,
vanillin, β-sitosterone, octacosanic acid and β-sitosterol and
bark, 4-(α-L-rhamnopyranosyloxy)– benzyl glucosinolate.
The purified, whole-gum exudates from the drumstick plant
contains: Larabinose, D- galactose, D-glucuronic acid, L-
rhamnose, D-mannose and D-xylose. The leaves contain
quercetin-3-O-glucoside and quercetin-3-O-(6''-malonyl-
glucoside), and lower amounts of kaempferol-3-Oglucoside
and kaempferol-3-O-(6''- malonyl-glucoside). They also
contained 3-caffeoylquinic and 5-caffeoylquinic acid. The whole
pods are reported to contain nitriles, an isothiocyanate and
thicarbamatesand O-[2'-hydroxy-3'- (2″-heptenyloxy)]-
propylundecanoate and O-ethyl-4-[(α-l-rhamnosyloxy)-
benzyl] carbamate, methyl-phydroxybenzoate and β-
sitosterol. The mucilage from the pods designated as
drumstick polysaccharide, the investigation of which revealed
the presence of galactose, dextrose, xylose and sodium,
potassium, magnesium, calcium salts of glucuronic acid.
Contrary to the definition of mucilages, the presence of dextrose
was an exception.
3.6 Nutritional analysis Moringa oleifera leaves
Moringa oleifera leaves is a good source of many nutrients In
fact they contain larger amounts of several nutrients than the
common foods often associated with these nutrients. These
include vitamin C, which fights a host of illness including colds
and flu; vitamins A, which acts as a shield against eye disease,
skin disease, heart ailments, diarrhea, and many other
diseases; Calcium which builds strong bones and teeth and
helps prevent osteoporosis (Table 2)28-30.
Table 2: Nutritional content of fresh and dried Moringa
oleifera leaves (per 100gm)
Nutrient
Fresh leaves
Oven dried
Moisture (%)
75.9
6
Energy (Kcal)
92
271.54
Protein (g)
6.7
23.78
Carbohydrates(g)
12.5
28.32
Fat (g)
1.7
7.014
Fibre (g)
0.9
11.8
Vitamin C (mg)
220
56
Beta – carotene (µg)
6780
37800
Iron (mg)
0.85
19
Calcium (mg)
440
3467
Phosphorus (mg)
70
215
Beta carotene (µg)
6780
37800
3.7 Traditional uses
Moringa oleifera leaf powder used as effective soap for hand
wash. It is used as an antiseptic. Oil from moringa seeds are
used in foods and in hair care products and as an machine
lubricant. Moringa is used in india and africa in feeding
programs to fight malnutrition. It is used as an aphrodisiac,
boosts immune system. It is used to treat heumatism, asthma,
cancer, constipation, treatment of epilepsy, anemia, anxiety,
blackheads, blood impurities, bronchitis, catarrh, chest

Suresh, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Aspects of Cucurbita moschata and Moringa oleifera
UK J Pharm & Biosci, 2018: 6(6); 50
congestion, cholera, conjunctivitis, cough, diarrhoea, eye and
ear infections, fever, abnormal blood pressure, pain in joints,
scurvy, semen deficiency, headaches, tuberculosis, intestinal
ulcers, bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitic infections31, 32.
3.8 Pharmacological activities
Moringa works as circulatory and cardiac stimulants, contains
antitum or, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, antispasmodic,
antioxidant, cholesterol lowering, antihypertensive, antiepileptic,
antipyretic, hepatoprotective, antidiabetic, antifungal and
antibacterial activities (Table 3).
Table 3: Reported pharmacological activities of Moringa oleifera
Plant parts
Pharmacological activity
References
Leaves
Leaves exhibited analgesic potency similar to that of indomethacin
33Manaheji et al.
Leaves
Antimigraine properties
34Kanchan PU
Leaves
Neuropathic pain induced by chronic constriction injury
35Jurairat et al.
Leaves
Anti-inflammatory activity in a carrageenan-induced paw edema model
36Gurvinder et al.
Roots
Anti-inflammatory activity
37Ezeamuzie et al.
Leaves
Antipyretic activity in a Brewer’s yeast–induced pyrexia model.
38Bhattacharya et al.
Leaves
Protection against Alzheimer’s disease in a colchicine-induced Alzheimer’s
model using behavioral testing
39Ranira et al.
Leaves
Anxiolytic activity in staircase test and elevated plus maze test
40Lakshmi et al.
Leaves &flower
Anti-tumour activity ; induces the apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma
cells
41Jung et al.
Leaves
Antiproliferative effect of Moringa oleifera
42Tiloke et al.
Leaves & fruits
Antistress, antioxidant, and scavenging potential
43Luqman et al.
Leaves
Antibacterial and antioxidant activity
44Kumar et al.
Leaves
Hepatoprotective effects against carbon tetrachloride and acetaminophen-
induced liver toxicity
45Patel et al.
Leaves
Reduced ulcer index in ibuprofen-induced gastric ulcer model and in pyloric
ligation test,
46Dhimmar et al.
Leaves & seeds
Antihypertensive effect on spontaneous hypertensive rats; reduced chronotropic
and inotropic effects in isolated frog hearts.
47Randriamboavonjy
et al.
Leaves
Antiobesity activity against high fat diet-induced obesity in rats
48Nahar et al.
Seeds
Protection against asthma; this effect was a direct bronchodilator effect
combined with anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial actions.
49Anita et al.
Leaves & seeds
Antihyperglycemic and hypoglycemic activity in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.
50Odedele et al.
Leaves
Anti-allergic action; reduced scratching frequency in an Ovalbumin sensitization
model.
51Hagiwara et al.
Seeds
Anthelmintic activity against Haemonchus contortus eggs and third stage larvae
52Cabardo et al.
Seeds
Wound healing in diabetic animals showed improved tissue regeneration,
decreased wound size, down regulated inflammatory mediators, and upregulated
vascular endothelial growth factor in wound tissues
53Choudhury et al.
4 Conclusion
The review illustrated that Cucurbita moschata and Moringa
oleifera are an important medicinal plant with varied
pharmacological spectrum. Almost all parts of Cucurbita
moschata and Moringa oleifera such as leaf, fruit, seed, bark
and root are used for treatment of various diseases. The

Suresh, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Aspects of Cucurbita moschata and Moringa oleifera
UK J Pharm & Biosci, 2018: 6(6); 51
phytoconstituents present in various part of both plants are
accountable for the pharmacological activities. A systemic
research and development work should be undertaken for the
development of products for their better economic and
therapeutic utilization.
5 Conflict of interests
None
6 Author’s contributions
SS and SSS collected the data and drafted the manuscript.
Both authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
7 References
1. Shrestha P, Adhikari S, Lamichhane B, Shrestha BG.
Phytochemical Screening of the Medicinal Plants of
Nepal. IOSR-JESTFT.2015; 1(6): 11-17.
2. Olorunnisola OS, Fadahunsi OS, Adegbola P. A
Review on Ethno-Medicinal and Pharmacological
Activities of Sphenocentrum jollyanum Pierre.
Medicines. 2017; 4: 50.
3. Burrows GE, Tyrl RJ. Toxic Plants of North America.
Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. 2013; 389–391.
4. Elella FA, Mourad R. Anticancer and anti-oxidant
potentials of ethanolic extracts of Phoenix dactylifera,
Musa acuminata, and Cucurbita maxima. Res J
Pharm Biol Chem Sci 2015;6:710-20.
5. Sharma A, Sharma AK, Chand T, Khardiya M, Yadav
KC. Antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic activity of
Cucurbita maxima (Pumpkin) seeds on streptozotocin
induced diabetic rats. J Pharmacogn Phytochem
2013;1:108-16.
6. Towensend CC, Guest E, Omer SA. Flora of Iraq,
Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Repobic
of Iraq. 1980; 4: 206- 208.
7. Mabberley DJ. The Plant Book: A Portable Dictionary
of the Vascular Plants. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. 2008; 235.
8. Chigwe CB, Saka VW. Collection and
Characterization of Malawi Pumpkin Germplasm. Zim.
J. Agric. Res. 1994; 32(2):139-149.
9. Craig WJ. Phytochemicals: guardians of our health. J
Am Diet Assoc. 1994; 977:1-11.
10. Fahim AT, Abd-el Fattah AA, Agha, AM. Effect of
pumpkin-seed oil on the level of free radical
scavengers induced during adjuvant-arthritis in rats.
Pharmacol Res. 1995; 31:73-79.
11. Binns CW, Jian L, Lee AH. The relationship between
dietary carotenoids and prostate cancer risk in
southeast Chinese men. Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. 2004;
13:117.
12. Jian L, Lee A, Binns C, Du CJ. Do dietary lycopene
and other carotenoids protect against prostate
cancer. Int. J. Cancer. 2005; 113(6):1010-1014.
13. Kwon YI, Apostolidis E, Kim YC. Health benefits of
traditional corn, beans, and pumpkin: in vitro studies
for hyperglycemia and hypertension management. J
Med Food. 2007; 10: 266-275.
14. Cheong NE, Choi YO, Kim WY. Purification and
characterization of an antifungal PR-5 protein from
pumpkin leaves. Mol Cell 1997; 7: 214-219.
15. Xia HC, Li F, Li Z. Purification and characterization of
moschatin, a novel type I riboso mein activating
protein from the mature seeds of pumpkin (Cucurbita
moschata) and preparation of its immunotoxin against
human melanoma cells. Cell Res. 2003; 13:369-374.
16. Quanhong LI, Caili F, Yukui R. Effects of protein-
bound polysaccharide isolated from pumpkin on
insulin in diabetic rats. Plant Food Hum Nutr. 2005;
60:13-16.
17. Rajakaruna N, Harris C, Towers G. Antimicrobial
Activity of Plants Collected from Serpentine Outcrops
in Sri Lanka. Pharmaceutical Biology. 2008; 40(3):
235-244.
18. Wang H, Ng T. Isolation of cucurmoschin, a novel
antifungal peptide abundant in arginine, glutamate
and glycineresidues from black pumpkin seeds.
Peptides. 2003; 24:969-972.
19. Bahramsoltani R, Farzaei MH, Abdolghaffari AH,
Rahimi R, Samadi N, Heidari M, Esfandyari MA,
Baeeri M, Hassanzadeh GhR, Abdollahi M, Soltani S,
Pourvaziri A, Amin GhR. Evaluation of
phytochemicals, antioxidant and burn wound healing
activities of Cucurbita moschata Duchesne fruit
peel.Iran J Basic Med Sci 2017; 20:798-805.
20. Marbun N, Sitorus P, Sinaga SM. Antidiabetic effects
of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata durch) flesh and
seeds extracts in streptozotocin induced mice. Asian
J Pharm Clin Res. 2018; 11(2): 2018.
21. Marbun N. Comparison of Blood Glucose Levels
Decrease Effectiveness of Pumpkin Flesh and Seeds
Toward Diabetic Mice, Thesis, Faculty of Pharmacy,
University of Sumatera Utara. 2017; 1-106.
22. Muruganantham N, Solomon S, Senthamilselvi MM.
Antimicrobial activity of Cucurbita maxima flowers
(Pumpkin). J Pharmacogn Phytochem 2016;5:15-8.

Suresh, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Aspects of Cucurbita moschata and Moringa oleifera
UK J Pharm & Biosci, 2018: 6(6); 52
23. del Castillo PA, Molinares MP, Campo UM, Bettin MA
Antibacterial activity of total extract from leaves
of Cucurbita moschata Duchesne (ahuyama). Rev
Cubana Plant Med. 2017; 22(1).
24. Govindani H, Dey A, Deb L, Rout SP, Parial SD, Jain
A. Protective Role Of Methanolic And Aqueous
Extracts Of Cucurbita moschata Linn. Fruits In
Inflammation And Drug Induced Gastric Ulcer In
Wister Rats. Int.J.PharmTech Res. 2012; 4(4): 1758-
1765.
25. Kunyanga CN, Imungi JK, Vellingiri V. Nutritional
evaluation of indigenous foods with potential food-
based solution to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in
Kenya. J Appl Biosci. 2013;67:5277–5288.
26. Prabhu RA, Rajan AP, Santhalia S. Comparative
analysis of preservation techniques on Moringa
oleifera. Int. J of Agricultural and Food Science. 2011;
1(2):12-22.
27. Palada MC, LC Chang. Suggested cultivation
practices for Moringa. AVRDC Publication 2003; 03 -
545.
28. Faizi S, Siddiqui BS, Saleem R, Siddiqui S, Aftab K.
Isolation and structure elucidation of new nitrile
and mustard oil glycosides from Moringa oleifera and
their effect on blood pressure. J Nat Prod. 1994;
57(9): 1256-1261.
29. Faizi S, Siddiqui BS, Saleem R, Siddiqui S, Aftab K
and Gilani AH. Fully acetylated carbamate and
hypotensive thiocarbamate glycosides from
Moringa oleifera. Phytochemistry. 1995; 38(4): 957-
963.
30. Faizi S, Siddiqui BS, Saleem R, Aftab K, Shaheen F
and Gilani A. Hypotensive Constituents from the pods
of Moringa oleifera. Planta Med. 1998; 64: 225-228.
31. The Wealth of India (A Dictionary of Indian Raw
Materials and Industrial Products). 1962. Raw
Materials, Vol. VI: L-M; Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research: New Delhi, 425– 429.
32. Anwar F, Latif S, Ashraf M, Gilani AH. Moringa
oleifera: A Food Plant with Multiple Medicinal Uses.
Phytotherapy Research. 2007; 21:17-25.
33. Manaheji H, Jafari S, Jalal Z, Shamsali R, Reza T.
Analgesic effects of methanolic extracts of the leaf or
root of Moringa oleifera on complete Freund’s
adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats. J Chin Integ Med
2011;10:217-22.
34. Kanchan PU, Vinod DR, Vijay BM. Antimigraine
activity study of Moringa oleifera leaf juice. Int J
Green Pharm. 2012;10:204-7.
35. Jurairat K, Jintanaporn W, Supaporn M, Wipawee T,
Cholathip T, Panakaporn W. Moringa oleifera leaves
extract attenuates neuropathic pain induced by
chronic constriction injury. Am J Appl Sci.
2012;10:1182-7.
36. Gurvinder PS, Rakesh G, Sudeep B, Sandeep KS.
Anti-inflammatory evaluation of leaf extract of Moringa
oleifera. J Pharmaceut Sci Innovation. 2012;10:22-4.
37. Ezeamuzie IC, Ambakederemo AW, Shode FO,
Ekwebelem SC. Anti-inflammatory effects of Moringa
oleifera root extract. Int J Pharmacogn. 1996;10:207-
12.
38. Bhattacharya A, Behera R, Agrawal D, Sahu PK,
Kumar S, Mishra SS. Antipyretic effect of ethanolic
extract of Moringa oleifera leaves on albino rats.
Tanta Med J. 2014;10:74-8.
39. Ranira G, Rimi H, Kaushik R, Debajani G. Effect
of Moringa oleifera in experimental model of
Alzheimer’s disease: role of antioxidants. Ann
Neurosci 2005;10:33-6.
40. Lakshmi BV, Sudhakar M, Ramya RL. Anti-anxiety
activity of Moringa oleifera assessed using different
experimental anxiety models in mice. J Pharm Res
2014;10:343-8.
41. Jung IL, Lee JH, Kang SC. A potential oral anticancer
drug candidate, Moringa oleifera leaf extract, induces
the apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma
cells. Oncol Lett. 2015;10:1597-604.
42. Tiloke C, Phulukdaree A, Chuturgoon AA. The
antiproliferative effect of Moringa oleifera crude
aqueous leaf extract on cancerous human alveolar
epithelial cells. BMC Complement Altern Med
2013;10:226.
43. Luqman S, Suchita S, Ritesh K, Anil KM, Debabrata
C. Experimental assessment of Moringa oleifera leaf
and fruit for its antistress, antioxidant, and scavenging
potential using in vivo and in vitro. Evid Based
Complement Alternat Med. 2012;10:1-17.
44. Kumar V, Pandey N, Mohan N, Singh RP.
Antibacterial and antioxidant activity of different
extract of Moringa oleifera leaves-an in vitro study. Int
J Pharm Sci Rev Res. 2012;10:89-94.
45. Patel RK, Patel MM, Kanzariya NR, Vaghela KR,
Patel RK, Patel NJ. In vitro hepatoprotective activity

Suresh, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Aspects of Cucurbita moschata and Moringa oleifera
UK J Pharm & Biosci, 2018: 6(6); 53
of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves on isolated rat
hepatocytes. Int J Pharm Sci 2010;10:457-63.
46. Dhimmar N, Patel NM, Gajera V, Lambole V.
Pharmacological activities of Moringa oleifera: an
overview. Res J Pharm Tech 2015;10:476-80.
47. Randriamboavonjy JI, Loirand G, Vaillant N, Lauzier
B, Derbré S, Michalet S. Cardiac protective effects
of Moringa oleifera seeds in spontaneous
hypertensive rats. Am J Hypertens. 2016;10:873-81.
48. Nahar S, Faisal FM, Iqbal J, Rahman MM, Yusuf MA.
Antiobesity activity of Moringa oleifera leaves against
high fat diet-induced obesity in rats. Int J Basic Clin
Pharmacol. 2016;10:1263-8.
49. Anita M, Babita A. Investigation into the mechanism
of action of Moringa oleifera for its anti-asthmatic
activity. Orient Pharm Exp Med. 2008;10:24-31.
50. Odedele LO, Ajao FO, Yusuf J, Adu FD. Effect of
aqueous Moringa seed extract on oxidative stress in
alloxan-induced gestational diabetic rats. Med Res
Arch 2017;10:1-14.
51. Hagiwara A, Hidaka M, Takeda S, Yoshida H, Kai H,
Sugita C. Anti-allergic action of aqueous extract
of Moringa oleifera. leaves in mice. Eur J Med Plants.
2016;10:1-10.
52. Cabardo DE Jr, Portugaliza HP. Anthelmintic activity
of Moringa oleifera seed aqueous and ethanolic
extracts against Haemonchus contortus eggs and
third stage larvae. Int J Vet Sci Med. 2017;10:30-4.
53. Choudhury S, Sharan L, Sinha MP. Anti-diarrhoeal
potentiality of leaf extracts of Moringa oleifera. Br J
Appl Sci Technol. 2013;10:1086-96.
54. Muhammad AA, Arulselvan P, Cheah PS, Abas F,
Fakurazi S. Evaluation of wound healing properties of
bioactive aqueous fraction from Moringa oleifera Lam.
on experimentally induced diabetic animal model.
Drug Des Devel Ther. 2016;10:1715-30.