Oils from perennial gourds

Abstract

Summary The seeds and the oil from the seeds of two perennial gourds, Cucurbita palmata and Cucurbita digitata , which grow wild in the Southwestern States, have been examined. Approximately two‐thirds, by weight, of the whole dried fruit is seeds. The seeds contain about 28–30% oil and somewhat higher percentages of protein. The oils from both species are chiefly characterized by 10.0 to 17.0% of a conjugated trienoic acid similar to the eleostearic acid of tung oil, but apparently not identical with it. Analytical data are shown pertaining to the whole seeds as well as the oil extracted from them.