Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) seeds protect against formaldehyde-induced major organ damages

Abstract

Exposures to hazardous chemicals including formaldehyde are harmful to human health. In this study, the authors investigate the protective effects of pumpkin seed oil (PSO) extract against formaldehyde-induced major organ damages in mice. Administration of formaldehyde (FA) caused significant elevation of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), serum creatinine, etc. Histopathological examinations of liver, kidney, and brain tissues showed the degenerations of those organs. Mice pretreated with PSO extract significantly attenuated the FA-induced elevation of SGOT (39.0 ± 1.30 vs 20.5 ± 0.65 IU/L; FA-group vs PSO treatment group), SGPT (91.8 ± 1.65 vs 51.0 ± 1.29 IU/L), serum creatinine (1.05 ± 0.07 vs 0.65 ± 0.07 IU/L), and preserved the normal histology of organ tissues. The FA-induced elevation of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the brain, liver, and kidneys was suppressed by pretreatment with PSO extract. The extract also attenuated the FA-induced reduction of endogenous antioxidant pools. In vitro phytochemical analyses showed that PSO extract possesses free radical scavenging and total antioxidant activities due to the presence of phenolic and flavonoid compounds. Thus, PSO extract has significant protective effects against FA-induced organ toxicities by scavenging oxidative stress and inhibiting lipid peroxidation.

Protective Effect of Hedeoma drummondii against Formaldehyde-Induced Testicular Toxicity and Genotoxicity in Wistar Rats

“…It has been reported the therapeutic effect of curcumin and pumpkin seed oil on the oxidative damage caused in male Albino-Wistar rats and Swiss Albino mice, respectively, after FA exposure. Curcumin reduces FA-incremented serum levels of MDA [48], while pumpkin seed oil reduces FA-incremented brain, liver, and kidney levels of MDA [49]. These findings are similar to those obtained in this study, in which a protective effect of H. drummondii was observed, possibly due to the presence of caffeic and rosmarinic acids, which can provide an antioxidant effect [26].…”

Semen Quality Following Long-term Occupational Exposure to Formaldehyde in China

“…Moreover, several antioxidant or oxidant compounds were found to alleviate oxidative damage in sperm caused by FA exposure . SOD and GSHPx are antioxidant enzymes protecting cells against oxidative damage, and MDA is a oxidation parameter measuring lipid peroxidation . It has been reported that FA exposure significantly decreases the levels of SOD and GSHPx, while it increased the level of MDA in the testicular tissue, suggesting that FA is associated with testicular oxidative stress and impaired testicular tissue in rodents .…”

The impact of Pumpkin treatment on TCDD-induced nephrotoxicity in Wister albino rats: biochemical and histopathological studies

“…Pumpkin has been shown to have protective effects against oxidative stress in various tissues as kidney, liver, brain and testes in vivo and in vitro studies (Amara et al 2008;Morakinyo, Achema, and Adegoke 2010). Protective role of PSO was confirmed by Paul et al, 2020(Paul et al 2020) who found that treatment with PSO markedly alleviated formaldehyde induced pathological changes in liver, kidney and brain in mice. Phenolic compounds such as polyphenols flavonoids as well as vitamins and zinc in pumpkin are attributed factors for its antioxidant activity by neutralizing free radical generation (Amara et al 2008;Morakinyo, Achema, and Adegoke 2010).…”