Pumpkin seed oil, a specialty cooking oil, produced in Austr

Pumpkin seed oil, a specialty cooking oil, produced in Austria and Slovenia. Poor tolerance for high temperatures.[26]
[size=75]From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [/size]

Pumpkin seed oil (Kernöl or Kürbiskernöl in German, Bučno olje in Slovenian,Bučino ulje or Bundevino ulje in Croatian) is a culinary specialty of south eastern Austria (Styria),eastern Slovenia (Styria and Prekmurje), north eastern Croatia (esp. Međimurje), adjacent regions of Hungary, and a European Union Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product. It is made by pressing the roasted skinless seeds of a local variety of pumpkins, the “Styrian Oil Pumpkin” (lat. Cucurbita pepo var. styriaca, also known as var. oleifera). Today the oil is an important export commodity of Styria but it has been produced and used in its southern parts at least since the 18th century. The earliest confirmed record of oil pumpkin seeds in Styria (from the estate of a farmer in Gleinstätten) dates to February 18, 1697.

The viscous oil is light green to dark red in colour depending on the thickness of observed sample (dichromatic colour)[1]. Used together with yoghurt the color turns to bright green and is sometimes referred to as “Green Gold”. Pumpkin seed oil has a very intense nutty taste and is very healthy due to its richness in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Brown oil has a bitter taste. Interestingly, traditional claims based on local folk medicine regarding its usefulness in the prevention and treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia may have some clinically proven efficacy (particularly along with Serenoa repens “Saw Palmetto” and Pygeum Africanum) according to the criteria of evidence-based medicine.

Dreikorn K, Berges R, Pientka L, Jonas U.[Phytotherapy of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Current evidence-based evaluation][Article in German] Urologe A. 2002 Sep;41(5):447-51. “Only a few randomized clinical trials that meet standard criteria of evidence-based medicine but with relatively short follow-up times and some meta-analyses mainly regarding Serenoa repens and Pygeum Africanum as well as more recent studies on pumpkin seeds have shown clinical effects and good tolerability.”

Vahlensieck W Jr. [With alpha blockers, finasteride and nettle root against benign prostatic hyperplasia. Which patients are helped by conservative therapy?] [Article in German] MMW Fortschr Med. 2002 Apr 18;144(16):33-6. Established medications for the treatment of BPH in current use are alpha-blockers, finasteride, and the phytotherapeutic agents pumpkin seed (cucurbitae semen), nettle root (urticae radix), the phytosterols contained in Hypoxis rooperi, rye pollen and the fruits of saw palmetto (sabalis serrulati fructus

Dreikorn K. The role of phytotherapy in treating lower urinary tract symptoms and benign prostatic hyperplasia. World J Urol. 2002 Apr;19(6):426-35. A number of short-term randomised trials and some metaanalyses in the recent literature suggest clinical efficacy and good tolerability for some preparations, mainly extracts from Serenoa repens and also Pygeum africanum, products with high concentrations of beta-sitosterol, and pumpkin seeds.

Bracher F. [Phytotherapy of benign prostatic hyperplasia] [Article in German] Urologe A. 1997 Jan;36(1):10-7. ”In this article, the most widely used phytopharmaceutical agents, such as saw palmetto berry extracts, Radix urticae extracts, pumpkin seeds, pollen extracts and different phytosterols, are described. Based on these results, the use of phytopharmaceutical agents for the treatment of mild to moderate symptomatic BPH seems to be well justified.”

Carbin BE, Larsson B, Lindahl O. Treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia with phytosterols. Br J Urol. 1990 Dec;66(6):639-41. ”In a randomised, double-blind study, the preparation Curbicin, obtained from pumpkin seeds and dwarf palm plants (Cucurbita pepo L. and Sabal serrulata), was compared with a placebo in the treatment of symptoms caused by prostatic hyperplasia; 53 patients took part in the study, which was carried out over a 3-month period. Urinary flow, micturition time, residual urine, frequency of micturition and a subjective assessment of the effect of treatment were all significantly improved in the treatment group.”

Other types of pumpkin seed oil are also marketed worldwide by online shops. International producers use white seeds with shells and this produces a cheaper white oil. New producers of seeds are located in China and India.