How we rate
“Strong” = several concordant meta-analyses or systematic reviews. “Moderate” = one synthesis, or several controlled trials. “Limited” = early trials only. The rating is about the quality of the studies, not about how useful the supplement is.
Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seeds and seed oil: in trials, slightly fewer prostate-related urinary symptoms and more hair in men. The largest trial, lasting one year, still needs to be confirmed according to its own authors.
Benefits
- Prostate urinary symptoms: in the GRANU trial (1,431 men, one year), 58.5% responders with 5 g of seeds twice a day, compared to 47.3% on placebo.
- Prostate, with oil: 320 mg per day decreased the symptom score as early as 3 months and improved maximum urinary flow rate after 6 months, in a placebo-controlled trial in 47 men.
- Prostate, without oil: a hydroalcoholic extract taken in the evening for 12 weeks reduced the symptom score by 30.1% in 60 men, in a study without a placebo group.
- Hair in men: with 400 mg of oil per day for 24 weeks, +40% hairs counted versus +10% on placebo, in 76 men with androgenetic alopecia.
- Hair in women: in 3 months, fewer fine hairs (vellus) and more hair growth in 30 women; the compared group, on 5% minoxidil foam, improved as well.
- After menopause: 2 g of oil per day for 12 weeks increased HDL cholesterol (from 0.92 to 1.07 mmol/l) and decreased diastolic blood pressure, in 21 women.
- Blood pressure: in postmenopausal women with high pressure, 3 g of oil per day for 6 weeks decreased systolic pressure, both at the arm and centrally.
- Blood glucose: 65 g of seeds added to a carbohydrate-rich meal reduced the rise in blood glucose by about 35%, in 15 adults with normal blood glucose.
Precautions
Tolerance: no more adverse effects than with placebo in the hair trial, none in the oil group versus tamsulosin, and products well tolerated for one year in GRANU. Limitations: in GRANU, the largest trial, the difference compared to placebo is only descriptive for the seeds, and nil for the extract capsules; its authors request a confirmatory trial before recommending the seeds. Versus tamsulosin, a prostate medication, the oil reduced symptoms less at 1 month and at 3 months. Combined with saw palmetto oil, pumpkin seed oil improved none of the measured parameters. Overactive bladder: a single study, without a placebo group, using oil from another squash (Cucurbita maxima, 10 g per day) in 45 people. Many small trials (47 and 35 participants, 12 women on oil in the blood pressure one) and several without placebo; blood glucose relies only on a test meal, and its authors request long-term studies.
Recommended dosage
Oil: 320 mg to 3 g per day depending on the trials. Whole seeds: 5 g twice a day for one year (GRANU trial).
How to take it
- For whom: trials focus mostly on men aged 50 and over bothered by prostate urinary symptoms, on people losing their hair, and on postmenopausal women.
- Prostate: 320 mg of oil per day, 360 mg twice a day, or 5 g of whole seeds twice a day were tested.
- Seeds or extract capsules: in GRANU, whole seeds performed better than placebo, extract capsules (500 mg twice a day) did not.
- Hair: 400 mg of oil per day for 24 weeks in men.
- Duration: from 6 weeks to 12 months depending on the trials; on the prostate, the symptom score drops starting from 3 months.
- Timing of intake: one trial had participants take the extract in the evening at bedtime; no study in this sheet compares times of intake.
Did you know?
In the largest trial, conducted over one year in 1,431 men, whole pumpkin seeds performed better than placebo... but not the seed extract capsules.
What the studies say
This single-blind randomized clinical trial compared the effects of pumpkin seed oil (360 mg twice daily) to those of tamsulosin in relieving symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in 73 men. After 3 months, pumpkin seed oil significantly reduced the IPSS and improved quality of life, with no side effects reported in its group. Although less effective than tamsulosin for overall IPSS reduction, it appeared to be a well-tolerated option.
Zerafatjou N, Amirzargar M, Biglarkhani M, Shobeirian F, Zoghi G. — BMC urology (2021) — View the source study
For information only: not a substitute for medical advice. Dietary supplements are not a replacement for a varied, balanced diet. Learn more