PSO6.5

Pumpkin Seed Oil Research

8 peer-reviewed studies · Evidence score: 6.5/10

Evaluation of the Safety and Effectiveness of Nutritional Supplements for Treating Hair Loss: A Systematic Review.

Drake L et al. • JAMA Dermatology (2023)

Studies of nutritional interventions with the highest-quality evidence showed the potential benefit of pumpkin seed oil for the treatment of hair loss.

30 articles were included comprising 17 RCTs, 11 clinical studies, and 2 case series in individuals without known nutritional deficiency
Pumpkin seed oil was among the nutritional interventions with highest-quality evidence for hair loss treatment
Adverse effects were rare and mild for all nutritional therapies evaluated including pumpkin seed oil

Systematic Review

DOI

Pumpkin seed oil vs. minoxidil 5% topical foam for the treatment of female pattern hair loss: A randomized comparative trial.

Ibrahim IM et al. • Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology (2021)

Findings of the present trial provide evidence of a promising potential role of PSO in treating female pattern hair loss.

PSO group showed significant decrease in hair shaft diversity from 30.5±6.2% to 24.0±4.02% (P<0.001) over 3 months
Vellus hairs significantly decreased from 22.5±4.9 to 15.8±2.2 in the PSO group (P<0.001)
Upright regrowing hairs significantly increased from 0.13±0.5 to 0.9±1.0 in the PSO group (P<0.001)

RCTn=60

DOI

Pumpkin seed oil (Cucurbita pepo) versus tamsulosin for benign prostatic hyperplasia symptom relief: a single-blind randomized clinical trial.

Zerafatjou N et al. • BMC Urology (2021)

Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) seed oil relieved BPH symptoms with no side effects, but was not as effective as tamsulosin.

Both tamsulosin and pumpkin seed oil (360 mg twice daily) produced significant decreases in IPSS and improvements in quality of life over 3 months
IPSS decrease was significantly higher in the tamsulosin group at 1 month (P=0.048) and 3 months (P=0.020) compared to PSO group
No side effects were observed in the pumpkin seed oil group, while tamsulosin caused dizziness, headache, retrograde ejaculation, and erythema

RCTn=73

DOI

The effects of pumpkin seed oil supplementation on arterial hemodynamics, stiffness and cardiac autonomic function in postmenopausal women.

Wong A et al. • Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice (2019)

PSO improved arterial hemodynamics in postmenopausal women and therefore might be effective in the prevention and treatment of hypertension in this population.

Augmentation index (AIx), brachial and central systolic blood pressure significantly decreased following PSO (3 g/day for 6 weeks) but not placebo (P<0.05)
Arterial stiffness index (SI) and heart rate variability parameters remained unchanged in both PSO and placebo groups
PSO supplementation improved arterial wave reflection and reduced central hemodynamic load in postmenopausal women with elevated blood pressure

RCTn=23

DOI

Utilizing the sublingual form of squalene in COVID-19 patients: a randomized clinical trial.

Ebrahimi M et al. • Scientific Reports (2024)

Squalene was extracted from pumpkin seed oil with a novel method and demonstrated significant reduction in mortality rate among COVID-19 patients.

602 eligible COVID-19 patients were divided into control (N=301) and case (N=301) groups in a randomized clinical trial
Sublingual squalene (extracted from PSO) significantly reduced mortality rate compared to standard treatment alone
Groups were statistically equivalent at baseline for age, sex, BMI, lymphocyte count, and comorbidities

RCTn=602

DOI

Evaluating the efficacy of extracted squalene from seed oil in the form of microemulsion for the treatment of COVID-19: A clinical study.

Ebrahimi M et al. • Journal of Medical Virology (2022)

Our data suggest that squalene could be considered as a potential treatment for COVID-19, and further studies are required to confirm the results.

Intravenous squalene microemulsion (5 mg twice daily for 6 days) significantly reduced need for oxygen therapy (P=0.020) compared to standard treatment alone
Squalene treatment group showed significantly faster fever resolution (2 days, P=0.025) and cough alleviation (P=0.010)
Lung high-resolution CT improvement was significantly better in the squalene group (P=0.033)

Open-Labeln=30

DOI

Pumpkin seed oil (prostafit) or prazosin? Which one is better in the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Shirvan MK et al. • JPMA: The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association (2014)

Pumpkin seed oil was an effective and well-tolerated treatment for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia with a favorable side effect profile compared to prazosin.

Pumpkin seed oil (prostafit) demonstrated significant improvements in IPSS scores in men with symptomatic BPH
PSO was compared directly to prazosin (alpha-blocker) in a randomized trial design
PSO group experienced fewer adverse effects compared to the prazosin group

RCT

Improvement in HDL cholesterol in postmenopausal women supplemented with pumpkin seed oil: pilot study.

Gossell-Williams M et al. • Climacteric: The Journal of the International Menopause Society (2011)

Pumpkin seed oil supplementation significantly improved HDL cholesterol in postmenopausal women in this pilot randomized controlled trial.

Postmenopausal women supplemented with PSO showed significant increases in HDL cholesterol compared to wheat germ oil control
PSO group also demonstrated reductions in diastolic blood pressure and menopausal symptom severity
No significant changes in total cholesterol, LDL, or triglycerides were observed in the PSO group

Pilotn=35

DOI

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