Elsevier

Nutrition

Volume 78, October 2020, 110788
Nutrition

Review
Vegetables from the Cucurbitaceae family and their products: Positive effect on human health

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2020.110788Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Cucurbitaceae is a large family of plants with 130 genera and 800 species known all around the world and has been used in traditional medicine for ages.

  • Cucurbits show many biologic properties such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antiinflammatory, and anticancer activity.

  • Cucurbits are a source of polyphenols, tannins, and cucurbitacins.

  • Cucurbits can be used as a potential treatment for stomach and intestinal disorders.

  • Cucurbits have a pharmacotherapeutic effect in low urinary tract disease, inflammation, and diabetes.

Abstract

The Cucurbitaceae family is a large group of crops with more than 800 species known worldwide. Vegetables from this family have been used for centuries, not only for consumption, but also for their medicinal value. The most characteristic cucurbits are pumpkin and cucumber, which are cultivated and consumed in many parts of the world. Seeds from cucurbits have many health benefits and are a popular snack. Cucurbit plants are rich in carotenoids, terpenoids, saponins, and phytochemicals. Vegetables from the Cucurbitaceae family have a positive influence on human health, and various studies have clearly indicated that cucurbit vegetables have antioxidant, antidiabetic, antiinflammatory, and purgative properties. This mini review evaluates the current literature about vegetables from the Cucurbitaceae family and their products, in addition to their positive effect on human health.

Introduction

Diet has a key role in human health. A healthy diet depends on its quality, which means a healthy energy balance, and a variety of nutrients. An easy way to achieve diversity in a diet is to look at groups of food that can be translated without a problem into a dietary recommendation. A significant example of this kind of food is vegetables. The recommendation is to eat at least 200 g of different vegetables per day [1]. In many parts of the world, wild edible vegetables are not the only source of food, but are also used as nutraceutical and functional foods [2]. Recent clinical and epidemiologic studies indicate that different vegetables and their products contain phyto-protective compounds that possess various biological activities, which may have a beneficial effect on human health. However, the mechanism of their action have not been clearly demonstrated [3].

In many countries, especially developing ones, almost 80% of the population choose traditional medicine over health care in their country. Bioactive natural compounds are the basic source for the development of modern pharmaceutical agents. All around the world, natural and conventional drug are used in 50% of total drug use [4]. Medical plants are cheaper than most chemical-based medicine. Observational studies have shown that the protective effect of a daily intake of vegetables for the prevention of store. The reason for this effect is based on vegetables as the main source of potassium, which positively influences blood pressure. Some studies have indicated that the regular consumption of vegetable juice may reduce blood pressure [1,5].

The present mini review examines the current literature concerning the positive role of vegetables from the Cucurbitaceae family for human health.

Section snippets

Characteristic of Cucurbitaceae family

Cucurbitaceae is a large family of plants, also known as cucurbits, with 130 genera and 800 species. The name of the Cucurbitaceae family came from Latin, where the word corbis means bottle or basket, cucurbits were used in various ways in the past (e.g., mature vegetables served as containers or even musical instruments) [6]. Cucurbitaceae are the most diverse plant family and are cultivated around the world in a variety of environmental conditions. More than 300 plant species are used by

Botanic characteristics

Cucurbitaceae are mostly annual and rare perennial plants. Their stems are herbaceous and angular, usually trailing or climbing through tendrils; the leaves are generally lobed or divided, reticulated, and palmately veined with a long and hollow petiole. Both stems and leaves are full of juicy sap. Owing to the storage of water and food, the roots and branch thicken. Cucurbitaceae flowers are mostly white or yellow and generally unisexual. Both female and male flowers occur on the same plant.

Cucurbits in diets

Edible plants, derived from the Cucurbitaceae family, are a group of plants in five genera: Cucurbita, Cucumis, Citrullus, Legenaria, and Sechium [24]. The majority of the Cucurbitaceae family is a good source of proteins in a diet. Cucurbits, much like most vegetables, are a good source of dietary fiber, which provides a lot of healthy properties and helps reduce cholesterol, insulinemic response, and changes in the intestinal function. Cucurbits can prevent constipation and reduce the blood

Chemical characteristics and health benefits of vegetables from the Cucurbitaceae family

The chemical composition of the Cucurbitaceae family consists of phytochemicals. They are nonnutritive compounds and occur naturally in plants. Some examples in plants are tannins, carbohydrates, saponins, and cardiac glycosides [8,25]. They contain a high level of bioactive compounds, such as triterpenes, sterol, and alkaloids. Terpenoids are biogenetically derived from active isoprene, and their basic structure is based on six isoprene units [30].

As a result of secondary metabolite

Antioxidant activity

Oxidative stress is a lack of balance between pro- and antioxidant levels in favor of pro-oxidants. Oxidative stress is a harmful condition for the entire body and indications of disease, such as cancer or obesity. Cucurbits, owing to their various bioactive components, display antioxidant effects (e.g., compounds such as cucurbitacins B and E or ellagitannins, which belong to tannins and have a free radical scavenging ability) [8,20,31]. Most vegetables from the Cucurbitaceae family are also

Antidiabetic activity

More than 380 million people suffer from diabetes, which is a huge financial and health care burden on the health care system. More and more researchers look for plants as a solution for diabetes therapy, among others in the cucurbit family [33]. Pumpkin has been shown to have significant antidiabetic effects. Protein-bound polysaccharides isolated from pumpkin seeds possess hypoglycemic activity, such as increasing insulin in plasma. Pumpkin also contains other biologically active components,

Anticancer property

Cancer has many different variations and is one of the most common diseases around the world. Saponin lowers the risk of cancer as a result of antimutagenic and antitumor activities. Cucurbitacins have shown an antitumor effect because they induce apoptosis in cancer cells by stopping cell cycles at the G2/M phase [8,30,31]. Polysaccharides act as hypoglycemic agents and have an antitumor effect. Mukai maderaspatana is a source of ergosterol that shows anticancer activities. Cucurbita andrena

Antiinflammatory activities

Cucurbits are a source of cucurbitacins, which show toxicity, but in the right concentration they display a potential to treat various pathologies, such as inflammation or autoimmune diseases. The most promising cucurbitacins, B and E, demonstrate antiinflammatory activity owing to the inhibition of mediators of inflammation, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, cyclo-oxygenase-2, and nitric-oxe synthase-2 [30,31]. Cucurbits can be a source of polysaccharides in a diet. This compound can generate a

Antimicrobial activity

Cucurbits are rich in terpenoids, which have a negative effect on fungi and bacteria owing to the membrane disruption and inhibitory effects [8,20]. Cucurbitacins stimulate gastric secretion. In addition, these compounds exert antifeedant for insects. Bitter apple is rich in cucurbitacin E 2-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and ursolic acid. Both compounds have strong antimicrobial properties [11]. Pumpkin extracts effectively inhibited a growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus

Conclusions

Today, more and more people base their diet on fruit and vegetables. The Cucurbitaceae family is known and cultivated around the world. The most popular vegetables from this family are cucumber and pumpkin, but squash and zucchini are increasingly used in the kitchen. Seeds have also become popular and healthy snack [7]. In traditional medicine, cucurbits were used to treat bladder and kidney stones and for their purgative properties [9,15]. Cucurbits are a good source of nutrients, such as

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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