Fanar Al Khaleej

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) seeds have long been valued as a source of the mineral zinc, and the World Health Organization recommends their consumption as a good way of obtaining this nutrient. In the case of pumpkin seeds, vitamin E is found in all of the following forms: alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, delta-tocopherol, alpha-tocomonoenol, and gamma-tocomonoenol. These last two forms have only recently been discovered in pumpkin seeds, and their health benefitsincluding antioxidant benefitsare a topic of current interest in vitamin E research, since their bioavailability might be greater than some of the other vitamin E forms. The bottom line: pumpkin seeds vitamin E content may bring us more health benefits that we would ordinarily expect due to the diverse forms of vitamin E found in this food.