Investigating the anti-hypertensive effects of pumpkin seed oil

In a study, researchers from Iran and the U.S. found that pumpkin seed oil can potentially treat hypertension in postmenopausal women. Their report was published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.

• Postmenopausal women are more likely to develop hypertension than men of the same age.
• In vivo studies reveal that pumpkin seed oil has anti-hypertensive activity.
• The team investigated the effects of pumpkin seed oil supplementation on vascular function and heart rate variability in postmenopausal women with elevated blood pressure.
• Participants were assigned to take either a pumpkin seed oil supplement or a placebo for the six-week study. Those in the experimental group took 3 grams of pumpkin seed oil every day.
• Brachial and central blood pressure, wave reflection (augmentation index, AIx), arterial stiffness (SI) and various HRV parameters were measured at baseline and at the end of the study.
• Those who took pumpkin seed oil had significantly lower AIx, brachial and systolic blood pressure after treatment. SI and HRV parameters remained unchanged for the treatment group and the placebo group at the end of the study.

In sum, taking pumpkin seed oil may improve arterial hemodynamics in postmenopausal women.

Learn more about pumpkin seed oil at SupplementsReport.com.

Journal Reference:

Wong A, Viola D, Bergen D, Caufield E, Mehrabani J. Figueroa A. THE EFFECTS OF PUMPKIN SEED OIL SUPPLEMENTATION ON ARTERIAL HEMODYNAMICS, STIFFNESS AND CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. November 2019; 37: 23-26. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2019.08.003