Pumpkin seed allergy in a child and reported medicinal uses
What it found
An eight-year-old boy had a severe allergic reaction after eating pumpkin seeds, though he could eat pumpkin flesh without problems.
The authors also gathered reports of traditional and lab-based medicinal uses for these seeds.
What they found
Studies in people
Severe allergy in a child
An eight-year-old boy developed vomiting, facial swelling and deep faintness almost immediately after eating a bread bun containing pumpkin seeds. His parents used an epinephrine auto-injector and he spent 24 hours in hospital.
Skin and blood tests
Skin prick tests showed large reactions to several types of pumpkin seeds but no reaction to pumpkin flesh or pumpkin seed oil. Blood tests found allergy antibodies to pumpkin seed but not to pumpkin pulp.
Other seeds tolerated
The boy ate peanuts, tree nuts and other cucurbit fruits without any problems. An oral test with 20 g of a mix of sunflower, flax, sesame and poppy seeds caused no reaction.
Earlier mild reaction
At about five years old, the same boy felt faint and nauseous with mouth itching after eating a bite of seeded bread. That episode went away quickly after taking antihistamines by mouth.
Animal and lab studies
Lab studies on disease cells
In cell studies, proteins from mature pumpkin seeds slowed the growth of melanoma, leukemia, lung and pancreas cancer cells. Another pumpkin seed protein showed activity against breast, ovarian, prostate and liver cancer cell lines.
Other findings
Nutrients in pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seeds contain 30 to 37% protein with all nine essential amino acids and 40 to 50% fat, especially omega-6 fatty acids. They also provide minerals such as potassium, magnesium, zinc and selenium.
What the authors conclude
- They expect pumpkin seed allergies to become more common as these seeds are added to more foods, medicines and cosmetics.
- They advise doctors to ask patients carefully about seed intake when checking for food allergies.
- They suggest adding common edible seeds, including pumpkin, to standard allergy testing panels.
How it was done
Seeds like pumpkin are added to more foods because they contain omega-3 and omega-6 fats. The authors wanted to describe a rare allergy case and gather what is known about the plant's uses and allergy risks.
The authors treated an eight-year-old boy who had a severe allergic reaction after eating a multigrain bread bun with pumpkin seeds. They used skin prick tests and blood tests to check his reactions to pumpkin seeds, pumpkin flesh, other seeds, nuts and flours. They also reviewed published work on the plant's history, chemistry and medical uses.
What it can’t tell you
- A single case report cannot show how often pumpkin seed allergy happens in the general population.
- Lab studies using cancer cells in dishes cannot show whether eating pumpkin seeds prevents or treats cancer in people.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Grenoble, France
The paper
- Title
- Medicinal bioactivites and allergenic properties of pumpkin seeds: review upon a pediatric food anaphylaxis case report
- Type
- Case report
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Chatain C, Pin I, Pralong P, Jacquier JP, Leccia MT (2017). Medicinal bioactivites and allergenic properties of pumpkin seeds: review upon a pediatric food anaphylaxis case report. European annals of allergy and clinical immunology. doi:10.23822/EurAnnACI.1764-1489.19Free full textPubMed 29249131DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error