Dietary raw and roasted pumpkin seed supplementation exerts neuroprotective effects in healthy rats as demonstrated by biochemical and histopathological analysis

Pumpkin seeds are widely used as a functional food due to their rich nutritional profile and potential health benefits, including their traditional role in supporting brain health and overall well-being. Therefore, this research investigated the neuroprotective effects of raw and roasted pumpkin seed supplementation in healthy male adult Wistar rats. Fifty rats were divided into five groups, with one group receiving only the basic diet and the other groups receiving the pumpkin seed diet supplementation for 14 days. Groups 2 (5%RP) and 3 (10%RP) were given raw pumpkin seed diet supplementation at 5% and 10% concentration, while Groups 4 (5%ROP) and 5 (10%ROP) were given roasted pumpkin seed diet supplementation at 5% and 10% concentration, respectively. The neurobehavioral test showed a significant improvement in anxiety, cognition, and spatial and non-spatial memory for rats that received pumpkin seed diet supplementation. Additionally, the biochemical analysis revealed enhanced antioxidant capacity in the groups that received pumpkin seed supplementation. The roasted pumpkin seed supplementation at 10% concentration showed the best activity in this regard. Furthermore, the 10% ROP group exhibited a significant improvement in nitric oxide and arginase levels. Roasted pumpkin seed supplementation also demonstrated a significant reduction in acetylcholinesterse and butyrylcholinesterase enzymes, as well as a decrease in phosphodiesterase-5 and adenosine deaminase levels. These findings suggest that pumpkin seed supplementation has neuroprotective effects by modulating antioxidants and cholinesterase signalling pathways, with roasted pumpkin seed supplementation showing enhanced efficacy.