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Review
. 2019 May 14;24(10):1854.
doi: 10.3390/molecules24101854.

Cucurbits Plants: A Key Emphasis to Its Pharmacological Potential

Bahare Salehi  1 , Esra Capanoglu  2 , Nabil Adrar  3 , Gizem Catalkaya  4 , Shabnum Shaheen  5 , Mehwish Jaffer  6 , Lalit Giri  7 , Renu Suyal  8 , Arun K Jugran  9 , Daniela Calina  10 , Anca Oana Docea  11 , Senem Kamiloglu  12 , Dorota Kregiel  13 , Hubert Antolak  14 , Ewelina Pawlikowska  15 , Surjit Sen  16   17 , Krishnendu Acharya  18 , Zeliha Selamoglu  19 , Javad Sharifi-Rad  20 , Miquel Martorell  21 , Célia F Rodrigues  22 , Farukh Sharopov  23 , Natália Martins  24   25 , Raffaele Capasso  26
Affiliations
Review

Cucurbits Plants: A Key Emphasis to Its Pharmacological Potential

Bahare Salehi et al. Molecules. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Cucurbita genus has received a renowned interest in the last years. This plant species, native to the Americas, has served worldwide folk medicine for treating gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal parasites, among other clinical conditions. These pharmacological effects have been increasingly correlated with their nutritional and phytochemical composition. Among those chemical constituents, carotenoids, tocopherols, phenols, terpenoids, saponins, sterols, fatty acids, and functional carbohydrates and polysaccharides are those occurring in higher abundance. However, more recently, a huge interest in a class of triterpenoids, cucurbitacins, has been stated, given its renowned biological attributes. In this sense, the present review aims to provide a detailed overview to the folk medicinal uses of Cucurbita plants, and even an in-depth insight on the latest advances with regards to its antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer effects. A special emphasis was also given to its clinical effectiveness in humans, specifically in blood glucose levels control in diabetic patients and pharmacotherapeutic effects in low urinary tract diseases.

Keywords: anticancer; antimicrobial; antioxidant; cucurbits; pumpkin; squash; traditional medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Most pronounced and investigated biological effects of Cucurbita spp.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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