Physicochemical Properties of Pumpkin Seed Oil&Therapy of Inflammatory Facial Acne Vulgaris

Oil from pumpkin seeds was extracted using soxhlet extraction method and the extracted oil was characterized using standard methods. The physicochemical parameters of purified oil was determined. The boiling point of pumpkin seed oil was (158.90 oC) was equal to the values obtained in literature for some oil seeds, but lower than the boiling point of the oils studied, plus the melting point of pumpkin seed oil was (15.39 oC) that was an advantage in cold cream manufacture. The iodine value (104 0.03 mg of KOH/g) of oil, indicating a high degree of unsaturation. The saponification value was (181 3.2 mg KOH/g), this value indicated that the pumpkin seed oil had fatty acids with higher number of carbon atoms. As a final point, the acid value was low (0.67 0.09 mg KOH), while the peroxide value was low (10.03 0.59 meq peroxide /kg). The extracted pumpkin seed oil had an acceptable initial quality. The herbal remedy individually or in combination with standard medicines has been used in diverse medical treatises for the cure of different diseases. Pumpkin seed oil is one of the recognized edible oil and has substantial medicinal properties due to the presence of unique natural edible substances. Inflammation is an adaptive response that is triggered by noxious stimuli and conditions, which involves interactions amongst many cell types and mediators, and underlies many pathological processes. Unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) can influence inflammation through a variety of mechanisms, and have been indicated as alternative anti-inflammatory agents to treat several inflammatory skin disorders. Pumpkin seed oil is rich in (UFAs), that its topical anti-inflammatory properties have been investigated. For that reason, the goal of this article was to evaluate the effects of pumpkin seed oil on acute and chronic cutaneous inflammation experimental models.