Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Seed Oil

An oil cold-pressed from pumpkin seeds. It mainly contains emollient and occlusive fatty acids and phytosterols, as well as unusually high levels of antioxidant vitamin E and carotenoids.
Moisturizing
Other functions
Origin
Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Seed Oil

Overview

Cucurbita pepo seed oil is a specialty emollient oil cold-pressed from pumpkin seeds. The fresh cold-pressed oil is a very dark brownish-green and has a strong nutty aroma.

Pumpkin seed oil is known for its exceptional chemical composition – it is majorly made up of linoleic acid (up to 60%), followed by oleic (45%), and palmitic acid (14%).

It contains unusually high levels of vitamin E and carotenoids - lutein and zeaxanthin, phytosterols, and the green color is caused by chlorophyll from the seed. This makes pumpkin seed oil a very beneficial emollient and occlusive moisturizing oil for skincare purposes.

The only downside is the intense nutty aroma and color (which might be undesirable in skincare products) and the fact that pumpkin seed oil is very prone to going rancid.

This oil is a culinary specialty in Austria and Slovenia.