Digitalni repozitorijum
Univerziteta u Beogradu
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Biological activity of pumpkin pulp extracts: cytoprotection, anti-inflammatory effects, and photoprotection in human skin cells
Mijic, Milorad
Vlaisavljevic Krstic, Sanja
Nacka-Aleksić, Mirjana
Jovanović, Aleksandra
Dekanski, Dragana
Antic Stankovic, Jelena
Bozic, Dragana
Jovanović Krivokuća, Milica
Bojić-Trbojević, Žanka
Pirković, Andrea
Background: Pumpkin extracts are rich in vitamins and bioactive compounds, offering antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties, making them valuable in dermatology and cosmetics; however, pumpkin pulp extracts have not been evaluated before for their cutaneous biological activities. Methods and results: This study evaluated the biological activity of methanolic pumpkin pulp extracts from six Serbian accessions of Cucurbita (C.) maxima and C. moschata on normal keratinocytes (HaCaT) and melanoma (FemX) cells. The extracts showed no cytotoxicity to normal cells up to 1000 μg/mL and exhibited concentration-dependent cytotoxicity to melanoma cells(determined by MTT assay). They also demonstrated antioxidative effects against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in H2DCFDA assay, and reduced tumor necrosis factor -α/interferon-gamma-γ-induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukine-1β in HaCaT cells, as shown in the cell-based ELISA assay. Sun protection factor (SPF) calculations for all six accessions confirmed the photoprotective potential of the extracts, with noticeable differences in SPF values between species and varieties. The highest SPF value was observed in the C. moschata variety. Conclusion: Significant variations in biological activities among the examined accessions were noted, with C. maxima extracts showing pronounced antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties while C. moschata extract showed the highest SPF values. These findings represent the first report on the skin-beneficial effects of pumpkin pulp extracts, identifying them as sustainable sources of safe, bioactive compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and photoprotective properties for dermatological or cosmetic applications.
engleski
2025
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Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 - Creative Commons Autorstvo - Nekomercijalno - Deliti pod istim uslovima 4.0 International License.
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Pumpkin pulp; keratinocytes; cytotoxicity; oxidative stress; pro-inflammatory cytokines
https://doi.org/10.1080/15569527.2025.2570195