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© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Cucurbita genus has received a renowned interest in the last years. This plant species, native to the Americas, has served worldwide folk medicine for treating gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal parasites, among other clinical conditions. These pharmacological effects have been increasingly correlated with their nutritional and phytochemical composition. Among those chemical constituents, carotenoids, tocopherols, phenols, terpenoids, saponins, sterols, fatty acids, and functional carbohydrates and polysaccharides are those occurring in higher abundance. However, more recently, a huge interest in a class of triterpenoids, cucurbitacins, has been stated, given its renowned biological attributes. In this sense, the present review aims to provide a detailed overview to the folk medicinal uses of Cucurbita plants, and even an in-depth insight on the latest advances with regards to its antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer effects. A special emphasis was also given to its clinical effectiveness in humans, specifically in blood glucose levels control in diabetic patients and pharmacotherapeutic effects in low urinary tract diseases.

Details

Title
Cucurbits Plants: A Key Emphasis to Its Pharmacological Potential
Author
Salehi, Bahare 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Capanoglu, Esra 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Adrar, Nabil 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Catalkaya, Gizem 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Shaheen, Shabnum 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Jaffer, Mehwish 4 ; Giri, Lalit 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Suyal, Renu 5 ; Jugran, Arun K 6 ; Calina, Daniela 7   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Docea, Anca Oana 8 ; Kamiloglu, Senem 9   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kregiel, Dorota 10   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Antolak, Hubert 10   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Pawlikowska, Ewelina 10   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sen, Surjit 11 ; Acharya, Krishnendu 12 ; Selamoglu, Zeliha 13 ; Sharifi-Rad, Javad 14   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Martorell, Miquel 15   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rodrigues, Célia F 16   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sharopov, Farukh 17   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Martins, Natália 18   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Capasso, Raffaele 19 

 Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam 44340847, Iran 
 Faculty of Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering, Food Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, 34469 Maslak, Turkey 
 Laboratoire de Biotechnologie Végétale et d’Ethnobotanique, Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Université de Bejaia, Bejaia 06000, Algérie 
 Department of Plant Sciences, LCWU, Lahore 54000, Pakistan 
 G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment & Sustainable Development Kosi-Katarmal, Almora 263 643, India 
 G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment & Sustainable Development Garhwal Regional Centre, Srinagar 246174, India 
 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania 
 Department of Toxicology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania 
 Mevsim Gida Sanayi ve Soguk Depo Ticaret A.S. (MVSM Foods), Turankoy, Kestel, 16540 Bursa, Turkey 
10  Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-924 Lodz, Poland 
11  Molecular and Applied Mycology and Plant Pathology Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Calcutta, Kolkata 700019, India; Department of Botany, Fakir Chand College, Diamond Harbour, West Bengal 743331, India 
12  Molecular and Applied Mycology and Plant Pathology Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Calcutta, Kolkata 700019, India 
13  Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Nigde Ömer Halisdemir University, Campus, 51240 Nigde, Turkey 
14  Zabol Medicinal Plants Research Center, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol 61615-585, Iran 
15  Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Concepcion, Concepcion 4070386, Chile 
16  LEPABE, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal 
17  Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Avicenna Tajik State Medical University, Rudaki 139, Dushanbe 734003, Tajikistan 
18  Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal; Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S), University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal 
19  Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy 
First page
1854
Publication year
2019
Publication date
2019
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
14203049
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2548951946
Copyright
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.