Oil from pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) seeds: evaluation of its functional properties on wound healing in rats.

BACKGROUND: Increasing natural drug demand for pharmaceutical uses has encouraged scientifics all over the world to explore medicinal plants recognized as efficient remedies. In this context, extracted oil from pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita pepo L.) is an interesting target, as it is composed with prominent pharmacological properties to possible wound healing treatments.
METHODS: The composition and content of certain bioactive constituents of the cold pressed oil obtained from pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita pepo L.) were analyzed and studied for their wound healing properties. Uniform wounds were induced on the dorsum of 18 rats, randomly divided into three groups. The wounds were photographed, and topically treated with saline solution (control group), 0.13 mg/mm(2) of a reference drug ("Cicaflora cream®"), and 0.52 μl/mm(2) of pumpkin's oil each 2 days until the first group is completely healing and so far biopsies were histologically assessed.
RESULTS: The composition and content of tocopherols, fatty acids, and phytosterols were determined. The results showed an excellent quality of pumpkin oil with high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (Linoleic acid: 50.88 ± 0.106 g/100 g of total fatty acids), tocopherols (280 ppm) and sterols (2086.5 ± 19.092 ppm). High content of these bioactive components were in agreement with an efficient wound healing by the mean of an in vivo study. In fact, morphometric assessment and histological findings revealed healed biopsies from pumpkin oil treated group of rats, unlike untreated group, and a full re-epithelialization with reappearance of skin appendages and well organized collagen fibers without inflammatory cells.
CONCLUSIONS: This study showed the significance of oil from pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita pepo L.) as a promising drug to healing wounds in animal assays. As a whole, pumpkin's oil would be recommended in the nutritional and medicinal purposes.

Background

Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) is an annual climber and is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October [1]. Pumpkin seeds oil is an extraordinarily rich source of diverse bioactive compounds having functional properties used as edible oil or as a potential nutraceutical. In recent years, several studies have highlighted the medical properties of pumpkin seed oil which is known as strongly dichromatic viscous oil [2]. Researchers have so far focused particularly on the composition and content of fatty acids, tocopherols and sterols in pumpkin seed oil because of their positive health effects [3-5]. Moreover, pumpkin has gained attention as an exceptional protective against many diseases, e. g. hypertension and carcinogenic diseases [6, 7]; due to its health benefits such as antidiabetic [8], antibacterial [9], antioxidant and anti-inflammation [4]. The determination of the biochemical and oxidative stability properties of pumpkin seeds oil would contribute to the valorization of such oil especially in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries.

Although much progress has been reached in the domain of modern medicine, we still notice the lack of efficient wounds healing treatments. The demand for natural remedies is rising in developing countries [10] as natural substances may be effective, safe and cheap [11]. Basic research has improved our understanding of enhancement and inhibition of wound healing and has given the basis for introduction of novel treatment methods [12].

In this respect, the proprieties of Cucurbita pepo L. extracted oil have captured our interest. Despite all the proprieties of the pumpkin oil, and to the best of our knowledge, there is no investigation of this oil in wound healing potential. To this end, the current study aims to identify some physico-chemical aspects of the bioactive components of pumpkin seeds oil as well as to highlight its hemostatic and healing potential effects on wound.

Methods

Plant material and reagents

The pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) var. Bejaoui seeds were harvested in region of Sidi Bouzid (Centre of Tunisia). The seeds were authenticated at the National Botanical Research Institute Tunisia (INRAT) and the voucher sample was deposited at INRAT. The fixed oil was extracted by the first cold pressure from seeds using a mechanical oil press (SMIR, MUV1 65). However, “Cicaflora cream®” a repairing emulsion with 10 % of Mimosa Tenuiflora, was served as a reference drug from the local pharmacy. The remaining chemicals used were of analytical grade.

Analytical methods

Color and UV–visible profile

The Cie Lab coordinates (L*, a*, b*) were directly monitored by a spectrophotocolorimeter (Tintometre, Lovibond PFX 195 V 3.2, Amesbury, UK). In this coordinate system, the L* value is a measure of lightness, ranging from 0 (black) to 100 (white), the a* value ranges from −100 (greenness) to +100 (redness) and the b* value varies from −100 (being blue) to +100 (yellowness).

Quality indices determinations

The titratable acidity (free fatty acids) and peroxides adapted the method of ISO660 [13] and ISO3960 [14]. UV spectrophtometric constants (K232 and K270) were carried out by the analytical methods of COI [15].

Determination of induction period (IP) to primary oil oxidation with Rancimat method

Oil oxidative stability was determined by measuring the oxidation induction time, on a Rancimat apparatus (Metrohom AG Series 679, Herison, Switzerland). A purified air (20 l h−1) was bubbled through oil sample (5 g) heated at 120 °C, the volatile compounds were trapped in distilled water and the increasing water conductivity was continually measured. The induction period was defined as the time taken to reach the inflection point of the conductivity curve [16].

Analysis by thin layer chromatography (TLC/HPTLC)

Neutral lipids were separated by TLC on silica gel 60 plates using heptane/diethyl ether/acetic acid (55:45:1 v/v/v) [17] and on HPTLC silica gel 60 layers developed with petroleum ether- diethyl ether- acetic acid (70:30:0.4 v/v/v) [18]; polar lipids were eluted with chloroform-methanol-acetone-acetic acid-water (100:20:40:20:10 v/v/v/v/v) [19] as well as they can be developed with chloroform-methanol–water (65:25:4 v/v/v) on HPTLC. The lipids separated by TLC/HPTLC were identified by comparing Rf values with those of pure standard compounds. For different class of lipids, primuline reagent was successfully used for their visualization. They were identified by co migration of commercial standards. The triacylglycerol (TAG) spots and their lipolysis products could be revealed in a saturated iodine atmosphere. For phospholipids, the identity was guaranteed using specific sprays of molybdenum blue (Dittmer reagent) that reveal phosphorus. The revelation of lipid classes after primuline was made by exposure to UV plates.

Determination of fatty acids composition

The fatty acids methyl esters (FAMEs) of pumpkin oil seeds were obtained by heating free fatty acids with boron fluoride–methanol (140 g BF3 per liter of methanol) according to a standard protocol described by Morrison and Smith [20]. The gas chromatographic analysis of FAMEs was performed on an AutoSystem Gas chromatograph equipped with a FID detector (HP5890 series II, 7890 A (California, USA). The column applied was a capillary colonne CPG polaire ZB-WAX (cyanopropylpolysiloxane) (length 30 m, id 0.32 mm and film thickness 0.25 μm), and the analysis conditions were: the initial column temperature was settled at 50 °C for 1 min, then at a gradient of 15 °C/min up to 180 °C and 5 °C min−1 up to 220 °C for 10 min, the temperature of injector and detector was set at 250 °C.

Hydrogen was used as the carrier gas at a flow rate of 1.5 ml min−1. The injection volume was 1 μl. Cis- and trans/FAMEs were identified through a comparison of their retention times versus pure standards analyzed under the same conditions. They were quantified according to their percentage area, obtained by the integration of the peak. The results were expressed as the percentages of individual fatty acids in the lipid fraction.

Determination of triglycerides composition

The analysis of triglycerides was performed according to the official chromatographic method of the Equivalent Carbon Number (ECN42). A 5 % of the sample to be analyzed was prepared by weighing 0.25 ± 0.001 g into a 5 mL graduated flask and dissolved in 5 ml with acetone. A HP1100 chromatograpic system from Agilent (Waldbronn, BW, Germany) equipped with a differential refractometer detector was employed. Next, the separation was carried out with a spherisorb analytical column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm particle size) from Supelco (Bellefonte, PA, USA). The optimized separation conditions were conducted by isocratic elution with a 60:40 acetone/acetonitrile mixture; column temperature, 30 °C; flow rate, 1.5 ml min−1 and injection volume, 20 μL of the sample solution prepared as indicated above.

For the identification of triacylglycerols (TAGs), the retention times plotted in accordance with alternatively reference chromatograms described by COI [21]. It was assumed that the sum of the areas of the peaks corresponding to the various TAGs was equal to 100 %, and the relative percentage of each TAGs was calculated. It is worthwhile to note that the theoretical value of ECN42 triacylglycerols was calculated by the computer program.

Determination of sterols composition

Oil sample (5 g) was dissolved by 50 mL of 2 N ethanolic potassium hydroxide solution. It was saponified and extracted according to the official IOOC (the International Olive Oil Council) method [22]. The unsaponifiable fraction was dissolved in chloroform, and approximately 20 mg were loaded on a basic silica TLC plate. The sterol and triterpenediol fraction was separated by an elution with a mixture of hexane and diethyl ether 65:35 (v/v). The corresponding band was visualized under UV light after being sprayed with a 2,7-dichlorofluorescein in 0.2 % ethanolic solution, then scraped off with a spatula, and extracted with chloroform. After the extract was evaporated to dryness, sterols and diols were converted into trimethylsilyl ethers by the addition of pyridine hexamethyldisilizane-trimethylchlorosilane (9:3:1, v/v/v), left for 15 min, and then centrifuged. The analysis of sterols was performed on a 7890A Agilent gas chromatograph (California, USA) equipped with a flame ionization detector (FID). The column used was a capillary HP-5 (5 % phenyl; 95 % dimethylpolysiloxane) (length 30 m, id 0.32 mm and film thickness 0.25 μm), the analysis conditions: the oven temperature was isothermal at 260 °C, the temperature of injector was 280 °C and the detector was set at 290 °C, helium was the carrier gas, with a flow through the column of 1 ml min−1 and 1:50 Split ratio, the injection volume was 3 μl. To identify the individual peaks of sterols, the determination of relative retention times (RRT) for sterols was carried out according to the majority compound of sterols (β-sistosterol), knowing that RRT (β-sistosterol) equal to 1 as described by COI [23].

Tocopherol content

The analysis of tocopherol content was performed according the method described by Ammar et al. [24]. The α-tocopherol content was determined by HPLC method. α-tocopherols were identified by comparing their retention time values with a standard. The concentration of α-tocopherol was calculated by integrating the peak area of the sample and the calibration curve of the α-tocopherol standard.

Antioxidant activities of oil: β-carotene bleaching by linoleic acid assay

The bleaching of β-carotene is a free radical mediated mechanism resulting from the presence of peroxyl free radicals that are created as a by-product of linoleic acid oxidation and which attacked the highly unsaturated β-carotene molecules. As β-carotene molecules lose their double bonds by oxidation in the absence of an antioxidant, the compound loses its characteristic orange colour, a fact that can be monitored spectrophotometrically [25]. This process can be altered if antioxidants present are able to compete with peroxyl radicals and thereby reduce/prevent the bleaching of β-carotene.

The ability of oil to prevent bleaching of β-carotene was assessed as described by Abdille et al. [26]. A stock solution of β-carotene/linoleic acid was prepared by dissolving 2 mg of β-carotene, 20 μl of linoleic acid and 200 mg of Tween 40 in 1 ml of chloroform. The chloroform was completely evaporated under vacuum in a rotatory evaporator at 40 °C, then 50 ml of distilled water were added, and the resulting mixture was vigorously stirred. The emulsion obtained was freshly prepared before each experiment. Aliquots (5 ml) of the β-carotene/linoleic acid emulsion were transferred to test tubes containing 500 μl of oil sample at different concentrations. The emulsion system was incubated for 2 h at 50 °C, and the absorbance of each sample was measured at 470 nm. BHT (Butylated Hydroxy Toluene) was used as positive standard. The control tube contained no sample. Tests were carried out in triplicate.

The antioxidant activity was measured in terms of percentage of inhibition (I %) of beta-carotene’s oxidation by:

Antimicrobial assays

The agar diffusion method was performed to assess the antibacterial activity according to the methods described by Ben Hsouna et al. [27] and Trigui et al. [28] with some modifications. The lipid sample was dissolved in 100 % DMSO to a final concentration of 100 mg/ml. The bacterial strains were cultured in a nutriment broth for 24 h. Then, 100 μl of each suspension bacteria was spread on Mueller-Hinton agar. Bores (6 mm of diameter) were made by using a sterile borer and were loaded with 75 μl of each sample extract. All the plates were incubated at 37 °C for 24 h. Antibacterial activity was evaluated by measuring the zone of inhibition in millimeters. The assays were performed in triplicate. Control tubes without tested samples were simultaneously assayed.

Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined according to the method described by Gulluce et al. [29].

Cell lines and culture condition

HeLa cells were used to investigate the cytotoxicity effect of oil. Cells were grown in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 10 % (v/v) foetal calf serum and 2 mM L-glutamin in tissue culture flasks. The cells were incubated at 37 °C in a humidified atmosphere of 95 % air and 5 % CO2.

HeLa cells (12 × 104 in each well) were incubated in 96-well plates for 24 h in the presence or absence of oil. The proliferation rates of HeLa cells after treatment with oil were determined by the colorimetric 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. After cell treatment 20 μl MTT solution (5 mg ml−1 in PBS) were added to each well. The plate was incubated for 4 h at 37 °C in a CO2-incubator. One hundred and eighty microlitres of medium was removed from every well without disturbing the cell clusters. A 180 μl methanol/DMSO solution (50:50) was added to each well, and the preparations were thoroughly mixed on a plate shaker with the cell containing formazan.

Animal care

Male adult Wistar rats weighing 189.19 ± 12.35 g were kept in separate cages and fed were used in the experiment. On the first day, each rat was anesthetized by 50 mg kg−1 ketamine intramuscularly injected hydrochloride, with 5 mg/kg diazepam. The back of the rats were shaved and cleaned. (1.5 cm × 1 cm) full thickness open excision wound was made by removing a patch of skin [30].

The experimental protocols were conducted in accordance with the guide for the care and use of laboratory animals and have therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments and approved by the Committee of Animal Ethics (Protocol no. 94-1939).

Bleeding time in rats

Hemostasis is a physiologic defense mechanism which guards the integrity of the vascular system. It involves platelet aggregation and coagulation. Bleeding time is a basic test of primary hemostasis to assess platelet function and the body’s ability to form a clot [31].

Male adult Wistar rats were divided into three groups (n = 6). The tail of each rat was cut with a scalpel Blade, a drop of the test substance was applied on the cut simultaneously with the start of the stopwatch. The two control group’s chopped tails were dipped in distilled water or normal saline. The tested groups’ chopped tails were dipped in pumpkin oil. All the chopped tails were then positioned vertically on top of the filter paper and bleeding time was taken as the time for the first drop of blood to show to the time when the filter paper stopped showing blood stain [32].

Wound model

A total of 18 animals were divided into three groups of six animals each:

Group 1 rats were treated with saline solution (control group).

Group 2 rats were treated with 0.13 mg/mm2 of a reference drug “Cicaflora cream®”.

Groups 3: wounds were treated with Cucurbita pepo L. extracted oil.

0.52 μl/mm2 of oil was topically administrated on wounds.

The treatments were carried out each 2 days using sterilized dressing immediately after inducing wound until the first group is completely healing.

Measurement of wound area

The wound area was measured by tracing manually the wound boundaries on a transparent paper each 2 days. The shapes of the wounds were scanned, uploaded to the computer and the wound surface areas were measured using Autodesk AutoCAD 2015 software application for design and drafting.

The wound contraction was expressed as a reduction of the original wound size percentage. The percentage of wound contraction was calculated by using the following equation [33]:

Histological examination

The rats were sacrificed and the tissues from wound site of the individual animal were collected for the histopathological examination purposes.

All tissue samples were fixed in 10 % neutral buffered formalin solution, embedded in paraffin wax, cut into 5 μm-thick sections and stained with hematoxylin-eosin. The slides were photographed with an Olympus U-TU1X-2 camera connected to an Olympus CX41 microscope (Tokyo, Japan).

Determination of hydroxyproline

The presence of the amino acid hydroxyproline in collagen molecule is about 13 %. The determination of hydroxyproline was performed according to the technique described by Bergman and Loxley [34] based on oxidation by Chloramine T. Tissue samples were desiccated at 60 °C. Afterwards, specimens were hydrolyzed for 3 h with 6 N HCl at 105 °C. The hydrolyzed specimens underwent chloramin T oxidation. The absorbance of the colored adduct formed with Ehrlich reagent at 60 °C was measured at 557 nm using a UV–VIS spectrophotometer (CE7200, CECIL, USA). The standard calibration curve was plotted for pure hydroxyproline and used for estimation of the test samples. The values were reported as mg/g dry weight of tissue.

Statistical analysis

All the data were expressed as mean values ± standard deviation (S.D.). Statistical comparisons between groups were carried out using SPSS. In case of multiple comparisons, repeated measurements of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were performed to compare the mean differences between and within groups following by Tukey tests.

The student’s test was used to compare the average weight of rats before and after the experiment. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05.

Results and discussion

Analysis by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC)

Cold pressure oil extracted from pumpkin’s seeds was subjected to HPTLC analysis. The rate of migration of lipids dissolved in chloroform is proportionally to the polarity of the compounds. Lipid profile by HPTLC (Fig. not shown) shows the predominance of triacylglycerols (TAG) and the lack of hydrolysis products such as diacylglycerols (DAG), monoacylglycerols (MAG) and free fatty acids (FFA) suggesting a good quality of the extracted oil. Many other researches confirmed that TAG constitutes the majority of lipids in good quality oils [35, 36].

Determination of tocopherol by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)

Tocols (tocopherols, tocotrienols, vitamin E, etc.) are lipid-soluble compounds; represent antioxidant molecules naturally found in most vegetable oils particularly in grains [37]. They are composed of four homologues of tocotrienol and tocopherol which differ in position and number of methyl groups on the chroman ring structure [38]. They are of great nutritional interest because of their vitamin E activity. Vitamin E is a generic term for entities displaying tocopherol biological activity. In general, these compounds exhibit a biological activity from their ability to donate phenolic hydrogen atoms to free radicals, which allows the breaking of destructive chain reactions [39]. To this end, tocopherol is an excellent lipophilic antioxidant. In this study, we determined the tocopherol content in pumpkin seeds oil which is in the order of 280 mg kg−1. This concentration is substantial when compared to that of olive oil, which varies from 125 to 250 mg kg−1 [40].

Upon initiation of lipid peroxidation after radical attack, the α-tocopherol, known as an inhibitor of lipid propagation, transfers its hydrogen and thereby reduces the RO2 radical. Indeed, the antioxidant activity of tocopherols would be due to scavenging the peroxyl radicals by implementing their functional radical to form the tocopheroxyl radical. Therefore, it is the only fat-soluble antioxidant that is ensuring this protection [41]. Moreover, it is recognized that tocopherols (vitamin E) deficiency impairs mammalian fertility [42, 43] and what Ben Halima et al. [36] reported consisted in an in vivo study in which they were proven that reprotoxicity caused to mice by orally administered deltamethrin (DEL) which is a pyrethroid pesticide exerting a wide range of effects on non-targeted organisms, can be effectively antagonized by the beneficial effects of oats oil (OO) as a potential antioxidant including a considerable amount of tocopherols to alleviate testis oxidative damage induced by this pesticide. In addition, lipid fraction from oat, linseed and pumpkin would be very efficient in the field of healing dermatology [44, 45].

Triglyceride and fatty acid compositions

The determination of triglyceride in pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) oil was monitored by a method of equivalent carbon number (ECN) (Table 1). Our result denoted that pumpkin oil had ECN42 and ECN44 of about 15 and 35 %, respectively, and which were higher than of extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) and soybean oil (SO) [46]. However, EVOO had the most important ECN48 (50 %); whereas, SO had the most predominant ECN50 (10 %) (Table 1).

Table 1

Triglyceride Composition of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), Soybean Oil (SO), and Pumpkin Seed Oil (PSO)

Triglyceride	PSO	EVOO46	SO46
ECN42	15.266	1.12	8.58
ECN44	34.712	10.03	25.88
ECN46	30.878	34.95	31.96
ECN48	14.876	50.14	22.08
ECN50	3.594	3.76	10.27
ECN52	0.673	–	–

For fatty acid composition, the FAMEs are prepared from the pumpkin oil, and then analyzed by gas chromatography with capillary column. Fatty acids (FAs) composition of the total extractible matter are evaluated and identified according to their retention times. The experimental results according to the chromatography profile of fatty acid composition in Cucurbita pepo oil are summarized is Table 2. Many fatty acids were detected in the pumpkin fat. The important identified fatty acids were: myristic (C14:0), palmitic (C16:0), palmitoleic (C16:1), stearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1), linoleic (C18:2), linolenic (C18:3), arachidic (C20:0) and gadoic (C20:1). The main fatty acids in pumpkin oil seeds are palmitic acid (C 16:0), oleic acid (C18:1) and linoleic acid (C18:2) which account in total for about 90 %. We note significant levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) qualified as essential fatty acids of above than 50 % of the total FA extractible matter. This confirms the good nutritional quality of pumpkin oil; as our body is unable to synthesize unsaturated fatty acids. Palmitic acid, the precursor of unsaturated fatty acids, is present at a considerable percentage of about 15 %. Pumpkin seeds are particularly rich in monounsaturated oleic acid (18:1) and polyunsaturated linoleic acid (LA) (18:2) accounting for approximately 26 and 51 % of the total pumpkin oil, respectively.

Table 2

Fatty acids composition (percentage of total FAs) of pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita pepo L.) oil

FAs	Percentage (%)a
C14:0	0.233 ± 0.023
C16:0	14.828 ± 0.145
C16:1n-9	0.015 ± 0.025
C16:1n-7	0.151 ± 0.003
C17:1	0.084 ± 0.004
C18:0	6.676 ± 0.024
C18:1n-9	25.817 ± 0.227
C18:1n-7	0.501 ± 0.11
C18:2n-6	50.88 ± 0.106
C18:3n-3	0.183 ± 0.004
C20:0	0.433 ± 0.053
C20:1n-9	0.0858 ± 0.017
C22:0	0.058 ± 0.057
C22:1n-9	0.055 ± 0.09

aThe rate is determined by the ratio between the areas of the peaks, corresponding to the sum of peak areas of all fatty acids

In addition, the higher C18:2 levels (51 %) were accompanied by marginally-increased C18:3 (omega-3) levels. Nevertheless, most published reports on FA composition in pumpkin show low levels of C18:3 similar to those reported in this study [47]. Recently, pumpkin oil has been investigated for its beneficial dermatological effects on deep second-degree burns [45] and it is likely that the pumpkin LA fraction plays a major role in the maintenance of the epidermal water barrier [48]. Finally, it is worth noting that the percentage of FA pumpkin fat reported in the literature falls in similar content as in this study whatever the extraction methods [47].

Sterols’ composition

The results for sterols’ composition and content of pumpkin oil are given in Table 3. In this study, the total sterols’ content was about 2087 ppm. The sterol marker β-sitosterol accounted for about 44 % of the total sterols. It was followed by ∆-5-24- Stigmastadienol, with 17.9/100 g, and Δ-7-stigmastenol with 7.7/100 g of total sterol content. Similar sterols’ composition was found in the literature regarding pumpkin samples [5, 49]. High sterol content of pumpkin oil makes it highly recommended in nutritional and medicinal purposes.

Table 3

Composition and content of sterols (g 100 g−1 of total sterols) and total sterol content (mg 100 g−1 of oil) in cold pressed pumpkin seed oil

Sterols’ composition	Content (g/100 g)
Cholesterol	0.15 ± 0.014
Brassicasterol	–
24-methylen-cholesterol	0.265 ± 0.007
Campesterol	2.8 ± 0.014
Campestanol	0.195 ± 0.007
Stigmasterol	2.92 ± 0.028
∆ -7- Campestérol	1.275 ± 0.021
∆-5-23- Stigmastadienol	0.045 ± 0.007
Clerosterol	2.475 ± 0.035
ß –Sitosterol	44.405 ± 0.148
Sitostanol	3.44 ± 0.028
∆-5-Avenasterol	1.85 ± 0.014
∆-5-24- Stigmastadienol	17.925 ± 0.063
∆ -7- Stigmastenol	7.75 ± 0.085
∆ -7- Avenasterol	14.51 ± 0.035
Total sterols (ppm)	2086.5 ± 19.092
ß –sitosterol (ppm)	959 ± 21.213

Oxidative stability parameters

The principal indicators of pumpkin oil oxidation were monitored in Table 4. The peroxide value of oil is a measure of primary oxidation, thereby; it is the most important indicator of oxidation level in oil. Our study revealed that the peroxide value of pumpkin oil was 8.66 ± 0.21 meq O2 kg−1 which didn’t exceed the maximum peroxide value for the category of extra-virgin olive oil (20 meq O2 kg−1) and thus it indicated the good quality of the pumpkin oil sample also when compared of that of olive oil stored for 25 days in closed plastic bags (16.50 ± 0.98 meq O2 kg−1) [50]. In Table 4, K232 and K270, acidity and induction period to primary oil oxidation with Rancimat method were also reported. The Specific extinction coefficient at 232 and 270 nm were as followed 3.379 ± 0.03 and 3.423 ± 0.048, respectively. These two specific extinction coefficients (K232 and K270) were inferior to that reported by Ardabili et al. [51] whose values for K232 and K270 were 4.80 ± 0.22 and 3.52 ± 0.05, respectively. Acidity was 1.4 ± 0.01 (% of oleic acid) and the induction period was 3.04 ± 0.08 hour. All these results would take into consideration an efficient oxidative stability and so far a good quality from pumpkin oil seeds which were extracted by cold pressure.

Table 4

Parameters of oxidation level of pumpkin oil

Oxidative parameters of pumpkin seeds oil
k232	3.379 ± 0.03
k270	3.423 ± 0.048
Peroxyde value (meq O2/kg)	8.66 ± 0.21
Acidity (% oleic acid)	1.4 ± 0.01
Induction period (hour)	3.04 ± 0.08

Color and cytotoxic evaluation

The color of pumpkin oil was also studied. As in the coordinates (L*, a*, b*) for color determination, pumpkin oil exhibited an average of 13 for L*, 34 for a* and 22 for b*. In this coordinate system, the L* value is a measure of lightness, ranging from 0 (black) to 100 (white), the a* value ranges from −100 (greenness) to +100 (redness) and the b* value varies from −100 (being blue) to +100 (yellowness).

A simple attempt was done to evaluate the cytotoxicity of pumpkin oil to HeLa cells (Fig. 1). From this result, a high concentration of pumpkin oil (100 mg ml−1) would be an important agent to destroy more than half of the cancerous cells of HeLa. The latter result would be very prominent to note that oil from pumpkin seeds would be a good choice for medicinal approaches.

Fig. 1

Cytotoxic evaluation of pumpkin oil for HeLa cell

Antioxydant and antimicrobial assays

The antioxidant activities of the tested pumpkin seed oils were carried out by the β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching test which is a commonly method used to evaluate inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The results reported here were compared to a standard antioxidant (BHT) which exhibit a highly antioxidant activity. The lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity of pumpkin oil indicated that this latter was higher than BHT (data not shown). Thus, oil extracted by cold pressure from pumpkin seeds exhibited important antioxidant activities due mainly to the presence of tocopherols in higher amounts as demonstrated by several studies [49, 52, 53].

For antimicrobial assays, our results strengthen the fact that oil from pumpkin seeds was efficient against Gram+ bacteria than Gram-. In fact, Bacillus subtilis was inhibited by pumpkin oil; for that the inhibition diameter was recorded 12 mm as well as the MIC* (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) and MBC* (Minimum Bactericidal Concentration) were 6.25 and 25, respectively. We can conclude that pumpkin oil is a good candidate to prevent spoilage from Bacillus.

In vivo study of the effect of pumpkin oil on wound healing

Bleeding time is a basic test of hemostasis that proves how well platelets interact with blood vessel walls to form blood clots. The records of bleeding time in rats are shown in Table 5.

Table 5

Bleeding time test

Treatment	Bleeding time (s)
Normal saline	2.33 + 0.23b
Control (distilled water)	35.00 + 2.04c
Pumpkin oil	2.33 + 0.23b

Values are given as mean ± SD (n = 6/group). Data with different letters for each column represent significant difference at p < 0.0001

According to the primary hemostasis test, the tested oil from pumpkin seeds seems to help blood clotting as it has shortened the bleeding time. Thus, the haemostatic effect of this tested oil reported in this work could provide an explanation for its healing effect. Indeed, fibrin once stabilized is a key element in the initial process of skin healing. It allows the recruiting of fibroblasts by chemotactic effect and stimulates collagen production by these cells [31].

Body weight

Our investigation on body weight changes are monitored in Table 6 as the mean (± SEM) of the rat’s weight. Our findings showed a slight increase in rat’s weight after treatment in all the three groups. However, these variations did not reveal a significant difference in the mean body weight between the studied groups of rats at the end of the experimental period which proves that the growth of the rats is normal and the three groups are comparative and homogenous.

Table 6

Variation of the body weight of rats among the experimental period

Groups	Body weight (g)
	Before treatment	After treatment
Group 1	188.40 ± 10.59	257 ± 15.7
Group 2	189.56 ± 10.43	259 ± 10.9
Group 3	188.83 ± 14.53	258 ± 12.3

Values are given as mean ± SD (n = 6/group). Group 1: rats were treated with saline solution (control group); Group 2: rats were treated with reference drug “Cicaflora cream®”; Groups 3: rats were treated with Cucurbita pepo. L. extracted oil

Chromatic study

Each 2 days, the dressing was removed and the wound healing process was assessed according to a colorimetric assessment and the states of inflammation. The appearance of the wounds of the three groups was illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

Representative photographs of macroscopic assessment of wounds for the three studied groups on day 1; day3; day7 and day11

By the wound induction, all wounds showed similar appearance of a bright red coloration. Nonetheless, this coloration was persistent even after 5 days in the untreated wounds and bleeding occurred upon the dressing removal that showed severe hold with the wound. By the day 7 of the experiment, an accentuated inflammatory rim around over the damaged skin of the untreated wounds was shown, however a brown color was observed in the treated groups (tested and standard) due to formation of the scab which gives evidence of the initiation of the healing process by the formation of blood clot. This scab persisted in all the treated groups from the day 7 to the day 9 of the experiment. After 10 days, most oil-treated wounds’ rats repaired themselves with no residual scab tissue to let appear pink blade coloration at day 11, however some reference group wounds remained open and the untreated animals still show, at the end of the experiment, an open wound with red rounding tissues. All these observations (Fig. 2) highlighted the healing role of pumpkin oil in skin injuries.

Assessment of wound closure

The healing process was monitored during 11 days throughout the experimental period to assess the wound healing potential of the three tested oils by following the size of the wound area and the percentage of contraction rates. The rate assess of the wound closure of all groups is shown in Table 7.

Table 7

Percentage of wound areas contraction of different group of rats

Days	1	3	5	7	9	11
Group 1	0	3.5 ± 0.15a	7.15 ± 0.42a	26.63 ± 0.26a	57.15 ± 0.78a	78.75 ± 1.2a
Group 2	0	9.32 ± 0.89b	20.61 ± 0.95b	36.25 ± 1.2b	52.42 ± 0.87b	84.21 ± 0.95b
Group 3	0	14.5 ± 0.68c	21.6 ± 1.12b	45.8 ± 2.6c	66.07 ± 2.69c	91.6 ± 0.7c

Values are given as mean ± SD (n = 6/group). Data with different letters for each column represent significant difference at p < 0.0001. Group 1: rats were treated with saline solution (control group); Group 2: rats were treated with reference drug “Cicaflora cream®”; Groups 3: rats were treated with Cucurbita pepo L. extracted oil

In group 3 treated with the pumpkin oil, as well as the reference group (group 2), significant healing effects on contraction were observed from day 3 to day 11 of the experiment period.

Delayed wound healing processes were observed in the control group compared to all the other groups; After 11 days, in contrast to pumpkin oil-treated group, in which a good closure of the wounds was achieved, the untreated animals still show an open wound (21.25 %) at the end of the experiment. Therefore, the current morphometric findings showed that the wounds from the treated groups have higher contraction rates than those of the untreated groups during the entire morphometric judgment time points studied. In previous studies, it has been reported that the same wound model used for the assessment of herbal drug combination of Rubia cordifolia, Centella asiatica, Terminalia belerica, Plumbago Zeylanica and Withania somnifera required a healing period of 20 days [54]; while, it lasted only 11 days with oil used in the current study.

Estimation of hydroxyproline content

Collagen, the major structural protein of extracellular tissue, is constituted of hydroxyproline that has been used as a biochemical marker for collagen tissue. Biopsies from wounds were appraised for their hydroxyproline content that provides an estimation of collagen concentration. Indeed, as it is shown in Table 8, the hydroxyproline level in treated groups was found to be significantly greater (P < 0.001) than the untreated group which implies more collagen deposition.

Table 8

Hydroxyproline content in different experimental animal groups

Groups	(Hydroxyproline mg/100 mg of tissue)
Group 1	15.97 ± 0.2d
Group 2	21.68 ± 0.8c
Group 3	25.60 ± 0.45b

All values are mean ± S.E. (n = 6/group). Data with different letters for each column represent significant difference at p < 0.0001. Group 1: rats were treated with saline solution (control group); Group 2: rats were treated with reference drug “Cicaflora cream®”; Groups 3: rats were treated with Cucurbita pepo L. extracted oil

Histological evaluation

The biopsies from wounds were studied on day 11 post excision (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3

Skin sections from injured area stained with hematoxylin-Eosin after 11 days of wounds’ induction; (a) Untreated wound after 11 days Gr 100, (b) healing reference treated wound after 11 days Gr 100, (c) Pumpkin oil treated wound after 11 days Gr 100. (Ep): epidermis, (Der): dermis

As far as the untreated group is concerned the epithelial regeneration was incomplete (Fig. 3a) and the wound healing was delayed. The dermis revealed the presence of a pronounced hyperemia accompanied with aggregation of macrophages. In healed biopsies from reference group, there was a thin epithelium with a moderate number of inflammatory nuclei (Fig. 3b). However, the hematoxylin-eosin staining sections from biopsies with the tested oil revealed a complete epithelial regeneration in pumpkin oil treated group; showing a well-structured layer that covered the entire area of the wound (Fig. 3c). The pumpkin oil-treated group showed a high fibroblast and collagen density with few macrophages.

Indeed, the proliferative phase started from day 3. This phase is characterized by including granulation tissue formation, angiogenesis, fibroblast migration and collagen synthesis [55]. Granulation tissue was monitored earlier in the treated wounds than in the control ones. This suggests that topical use of seed oil from pumpkin seeds and reference drug may enhance the healing process while promoting a fast formation of granulation tissue, as has been described by Rocha et al. [56]. Moreover, by the day 7, an accentuated inflammatory rim seemed more obvious around the untreated wounds than in the treated ones. The steady and significant incidence of inflammatory reaction in untreated group even at late stages of healing, suggests a prolonged inflammatory process [57]. Indeed, prolonged inflammation leads to edema, functional loss and increases the rate of wound infection. However, biopsies from rats treated with oil, would show a fast kinetic of healing without inflammatory cells in skin biopsy after 11 days. Our phytochemical profile findings revealed that the tested oil contained a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid and linolenic acid. Linoleic acid, a precursor of arachidonic acid, is important in the inflammatory cascade (prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and leukotrienes) [58]. These substances act as inflammatory mediators [59] and accelerate the inflammatory process. Thus, they enhance local neovascularization, extracellular matrix remodeling, cellular migration and fibroblastic differentiation [60] that lead to speed up the dynamic of wound healing. In addition, in terms of β-sitosterol, which has been reported to possess prominent angiogenic activity [61, 62], that promote fibroblast multiplication [63] and consequently the healing activity [57, 64–67]. In our study, high level of β-sitosterol was observed in pumpkin oil. These findings were in concordance with the estimation of collagen content that revealed a higher collagen density in treated groups than the untreated group which is important in the healing process. The cold extracted oil from pumpkin seeds may help in the migration of fibroblasts during reepithelialization by providing a connective tissue matrix. Furthermore, previous studies showed that tocopherols (vitamin E) are other compounds present in our extracted oil, which have potential to act as scavengers of superoxidase, and hydroxyl and peroxy radicals released from oxidative phosphorylation that could promote the wound healing process [68]. Moreover, Getie et al. [69] suggest that the antioxidant effect of any drug prevents cell damage, promotes DNA synthesis, increases vascularity, increases the strength of collagen fibers and in fine improves the viability of collagen fibrils. Thus, the antioxidant effect related to individual or additive effect of the phytoconstituents associated with the antimicrobial activities of the tested extract [9, 65, 70, 71] could be a mechanism contributing to wound healing process. Finally, this morphometric assessment is in agreement with the histological findings where biopsies from reference group showed thin epithelium and healed biopsies from oil treated group, unlike the untreated group, revealed a full re-epithelialization with reappearance of skin appendages and well organized collagen fibers without inflammatory cells.

Conclusions

This study has revealed that oil from pumpkin seeds extracted by cold pressure is an important source of many healthy components such as antioxidant and antimicrobial agents. Furthermore, the presence of tocopherols, sterols and polyunsaturated fatty acids in pumpkin oil make it an excellent drug in pharmaceutics and cosmetics which would provide potential protection against skin problem, e.g. dermatological wound. In fact, our findings revealed also that cutaneous wound healing in rats treated with pumpkin oil extract was better than untreated or reference groups by the means of macroscopic, morphometric and histological data. Further researches with purified constituents are recommended to better understanding of the complete mechanism of wound healing activity of pumpkin tested oil. Besides, additional studies of the bioactive components of the obtained pumpkin oil would contribute to accomplish other nutritional and medicinal applications.