The Effects of Pumpkin Seed Oil Supplementation on Cardiovascular Function in Postmenopausal Women.

Marymount University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Hypertension; Elevated Blood Pressure

Treatments: Other: Pumpkin Seed Oil; Other: Placebo

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03716960

321

Details and patient eligibility

About

Postmenopausal women have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular (CV) disease than age-match men. Growing evidence from rat studies have demonstrated CV-protective effects of pumpkin seed oil (PSO).

The investigators hypothesis is that PSO would improve CV health in postmenopausal women.

Full description

The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of 6 weeks of PSO on arterial and autonomic function in postmenopausal women. Specific aims of the study are to:

To investigate the extent to which PSO will improve cardiovascular disease risk factors by assessing arterial stiffness, aortic BP and wave reflection, and autonomic function (heart rate variability).

Enrollment: 23 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 45 to 65 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Female
• 45 to 65 years of age
• At least 1 year after menopause
• BMI <39.9
• Sedentary or low active (less than 2 hr per wk)

Exclusion criteria

• known heart disease
• peripheral vascular disease
• diabetes, body mass index
• BMI> 40 kg/m2
• other chronic diseases
• taking medications (e.g., hormone replacement therapy, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, antidepressants and stimulants) that could affect the outcome variables
• smokers
• history of steady exercise or received exercise training and dietary changes in the last year

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

23 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Pumpkin Seed Oil

Experimental group

Description:

This arm involved 6 weeks of PSO consumption. Subject were supplemented with 3 g/day of PSO which was ingested in the form of 1g capsules with each main meal of the day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). Likewise,

Treatment:

Other: Pumpkin Seed Oil

Placebo

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

This arm involved 6 weeks of placebo consumption. Subject consumed 1 capsule of maltodextrin with each main meal of the day to match the dose and number of capsules ingested daily by the PSO group.

Treatment:

Other: Placebo