Cucurbita pepo L. subsp. pepo convar. pepo var. styriaca Grebensc. – Styrian oil pumpkin

Styrian oil pumpkin is a herbaceous, stoloniferous annual plant in Cucurbitaceae (Th). The roots are thick, placed deeply underground. The stems are hollow, covered with hair, 3-5 m long. The leaves are big, 5 fold lobed, green or sometimes greyish. The leafstalks are 25-30 cm long, hollow and covered with hair, too. The plant is monoecious, the male and female flowers are separated. The petals are yellow, inseparable. The female flowers have short, while the male flowers have long flower stalks. The fruits are medium sized, globular or oblong, yellow with white banding. The fruits contain about 400-500 seeds, which are plain, oval, 15-20 mm long, 8-10 mm wide, 2.5-3 mm thick, olive green or greyish green coloured. Thousand seed weight: 200-310 g.

Styrian oil pumpkin has been known only since the 50s, probably the speciation is caused by a spontaneous mutation. In Hungary the plant has been cultivated since 1976, it originates from the southern part of Austria. Oil pumpkin prefers direct sunlight and warm climate, also has high drought tolerance. It grows well on every soil types, but produces bigger yields on sandy and pise soils, rich in nutrients.

The ripe seeds (Cucurbitae semen) and the fatty oil squeezed from the seeds (Oleum cucurbitae) are the official drugs of oil pumpkins, mentioned by the E-monographs.

Cucurbitae semen’s main active substance is fatty oil (40-60 %), which contains polyunsaturated fatty acids and their derivates: linolic acid (45-50 %), vitamin E-vitamin (over 30 mg %).

The polyunsaturated fatty acids of oil pumpkin (linolic, linolenic acids) are precursors of prostaglandins. The seed and seed oil is a natural provitamin source and also has antioxidant activity, because of the vitamin E and selenium content. The fatty oil of the seeds is efficient against prostate hypertrophia and urinary problems.