A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF PUMPKIN SEEDS ON 
THE GROWTH OF RATS 1 
By Benjamin Masurovsky 2 
Animal Nutrition Laboratory , Dairy Husbandry Department , Nebraska Agricultural 
Experiment Station 
INTRODUCTION 
The object of the experiment recorded in this paper was to investigate 
the belief prevalent among stock feeders as to the injury caused by of 
Cucurbita pepo (pumpkin) seeds in animal metabolism and to verify the 
results obtained by scientific investigators in the study of the effects of 
these seeds upon animals. 
Pott 3 states that the claim made that pumpkin seeds are injurious is 
without foundation. 
Lindsey 4 found that the seeds appeared to have no injurious effects 
upon animals when fed in the amounts found in the entire pumpkin 
fruit. 
The writer 5 fed pumpkins with increased quantities of Cucurbita seeds 
to growing pigs and found no detrimental effect upon the gain in body 
weight of the animals. Elsewhere he 6 experimented on himself by in¬ 
cluding Cucurbita pepo seeds in his diet. In studying the kidney excre¬ 
tion he found that the r 61 e played by pumpkin seeds in animal metabolism 
* is of a chemico-pharmacognostic value. 
EXPERIMENT 
Six rats of the same litter resulting from the crossing of a pure 
Norwegian buck and an albino doe of the “Tyler” strain were used in 
this experiment. The foundation stocks of both the Norwegian and albino 
strains were purchased from the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and. 
Biology, Philadelphia, Pa. 
The experimental animals were born April 24, 1923, and weaned May 
18. They were all males and at the beginning of the feeding experi¬ 
ment, June 22, were 60 days old and of the following weights: 
No. of group. 
No. of ani¬ 
mal. 
Sex. 
! 
| Weight. 
Gw. 
I.. 
/ 41 
<T 
135 
j 43 
e 
137 
11.. hty- .SfLgaff 
( 4 I 
<? 
125 
1 46 
c? 
127 
hi.. 
/ 40 
c? 
Il8 
1 43 
<? 
134 
1 Accepted for publication Nov. i, 1923. Published by permission of the Director, Nebraska Experi • 
ment Station. 
* The writer wishes to express his thanks to R. A. Braun, Dairy Husbandry Department, for the timely 
help given in this work. 
•Pott, Emil, handbuch der tibrischbn ernahrung und der landwirtschaftuchen futter- 
MITTEL. Bd. 2, p. 424-425. I907. 
* Lindsey, J. B. the composition, digestibility, and feeding value of pumpkins. Mass. Agr. 
Exp. Sta. Bui. 174, p. 55-71. 1917. 
6 Masurovsky, Benjamin, effects of some cucurbita seeds on animal metabolism. In Jour. 
Agr. Research, v. 21, p. 523-539. 1921. 
* Masurovsky, Benjamin, a study of the effects of cucurbita pepo seeds on kidney excretion. 
In Proc. Nat. Acad. Sea., v. 8, p. 39-43* 1922. 
Vol. XXVII, No. 1. 
Jan. 5 1924 
Key No. Nebr .-6 
Journal of Agricultural Research, 
Washington, D. C. 
(39) 
