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Abstract
Pumpkin (cucurbita moschata) is from genus Cucurbita of the family Cucurbitaceae, which is comparing of about 130 genera and more than 900 species of which only a few are cultivated. It includes squash and cucumbers which are grown throughout the tropical and sub tropical countries. There are three common types of pumpkin world-wide, namely Curcurbita pepo, Curcurbita maxima and Curcurbita moschata (Lee et al., 2003). Pumpkin can be found in many shapes, sizes and colours. The miniature pumpkin is Curcurbita pepo and the giant types of the pumpkin are Curcurbita maxima, while the buff-coloured pie variety Cucurbita moschata are excellent for processing into pie. All pumpkins have hard skin when matured. Cucurbita moschata is the most commonly use in both Asia and the United States (See, 2008).
The five major pumpkin producing countries in the world are China, India, Ukraine, Egypt and United States (FAO, 2005). Pumpkins are already planted in Egypt in some governorates like Giza, Ismailia, Elkalubia, and Middle Egypt, the national total production in 2008 was 297 ton, the yield was 4,50 ton/feddan, and the total cultivated areas are 66 fedan. (Agriculture statistics, 2008)
In Egypt the annual production of pumpkin represent 3.30% of world production and 52.34% of African production (FAO, 2007).
The yellow-orange characteristic colour of pumpkin is due to the presence of carotenoid. Pumpkin provides valuable source of carotenoids, provitamin A which have major roles in nutritional aspect as well as an antioxidant. Current research indicates that a diet rich in foods containing beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer and offers protection against heart disease and diabetes. The carotenoid content in Spanish pumpkin was reported to be higher than other pumpkins and even higher than carrots which contained beta- carotene (Wu and Jin, 1998).
Pumpkin pulp can be consumed in a variety of ways such as a fresh or cooked vegetable, as well as being stored frozen or canned (Figueredo et al., 2000).
Pumpkin can be processed into flour which has longer shelf-life. Pumpkin flour was being used because of its highly-desirable flavor, sweetness and deep yellow-orange colour. It has been used to supplement cereal flour in bakery products, soups, sauces, spice as well as a natural colouring agent in pasta and flour mixes. Drying method was reported to provide longer shelf-life, smaller space for storage and lighter in weight during transportation (Ertekin and Yaldiz, 2004).
Pumpkin seed has considerable nutritional value for human consumption due to its 37.8-45.4% oil and 25.2-37.0% protein. It has valuable dietetic and medicinal advantages (Yoshida et al., 2004). The content of vitamin E in pumpkin seed is very high; the seed itself can be eaten as a snack or ground as an ingredient of sauces. Pumpkin seed has also been used in traditional medicine with combination from several plants and herbs which contain fatty acids and phytosterols and are used in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Pumpkin seed oil, extracted from the seed is used widespread as salad oil (Murkovic and Pfannhauser, 2000). Pumpkin seed is also rich in plant sterols which have recently become of great interest due to the serum cholesterol-lowering effect (Miettinen et al., 1995).
Preliminary investigations showed that a pumpkin-rich diet could reduce the blood glucose. (Yang et al., 2007)