The difference between square melon and pumpkin

Square melon, also known as pumpkin and northern melon, is a perennial herb. Pumpkin refers to the special Chinese pumpkin which includes many varieties. It is also known as northern melon in many areas. So there is not much difference between square melon and pumpkin. Although there are different related introductions in different places, it is actually just a name, but the difference in varieties is quite large.

The difference between squash and pumpkin

Square melon, also known as pumpkin, pumpkin, Japanese pumpkin, northern melon, etc., is an annual herbaceous melon vegetable belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family. The stem is creeping, pentagonal, and has no thorns. The leaves are pentagonal and heart-shaped. The corolla lobes are large, yellow, and male and female. The fruit is oblong, flat, etc. in shape, with a smooth or nodular surface. It has white powder when mature. The fruit matures in late summer and early autumn and is red-yellow, yellow-brown, reddish-brown, yellow-white, etc. Its origin includes southern Asia, southern China, Central America, etc., and it is now widely cultivated in five continents of the world. Square melon is one of the excellent fruits for relieving summer heat in my country.

Pumpkin is a plant of the genus Cucurbita in the Cucurbitaceae family. The word "pumpkin" can refer specifically to the Chinese pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) in the genus Squash, or it can refer generally to other cultivated species of the genus Squash, including the Indian pumpkin (also known as the Indian pumpkin) and the American pumpkin (also known as the American pumpkin). The former is also called wheat melon, pumpkin, Japanese melon, and golden winter melon due to different names depending on their origin. It is called golden melon in Minnan, Hakka, Dapeng, and Jinhua dialects. It is also called "northern melon" in Changde, Hunan and other places. It is native to North America.

Medicinal value of square melon

Nutritional Value

Square melon, also known as pumpkin and squash, belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the melon is warm in nature, sweet in taste, and has the effects of tonifying the middle and replenishing qi, strengthening the spleen and warming the stomach, relieving inflammation and pain, and detoxifying and killing insects. Square melon is rich in nutrients, containing citrulline, arginine, asparagic acid, various unsaturated fatty acids, as well as fenugreek, adenine, carotene, glucose, sugarcane grains, pentosan, mannitol, and a large amount of vitamins B, C and E and a variety of trace elements such as magnesium, iron, copper, selenium, zinc, etc.

Square melon can promote the secretion of insulin in the human body and enhance the regeneration ability of liver and kidney cells. Therefore, square melon can effectively prevent and treat diabetes, hypertension and some liver and kidney diseases. Square melon also contains an enzyme that can decompose nitrosamines (nitrosamines are carcinogenic). Therefore, eating square melon regularly can reduce the incidence of digestive system cancer. In addition, every 100 grams of fresh square melon contains 2.4 mg of carotene, which is the highest carotene content among melons. After carotene is absorbed by the human body, it can be converted into vitamin A in the liver and has anti-cancer and anti-cancer effects.

Scientific research

In recent years, scientists have shown that the selenium content in the human body is inversely proportional to the incidence of cancer. That is, the higher the selenium content in the human body, the lower the incidence of cancer. Selenium mainly plays an antioxidant role together with glutathione when encountering oxides. Cucumber is high in selenium and vitamin E, which also has antioxidant and anti-aging effects. In addition, square melon also has the special effect of preventing prostate hypertrophy and enhancing sexual function. It is well known that zinc can bind to more than 200 enzymes and is an enzyme activator. When zinc is deficient, the activity of many enzymes will be inhibited, which can lead to growth stagnation, poor development of sexual organs, loss of libido, weakened sense of taste and poor wound healing. Pumpkin seeds also contain a lot of selenium and zinc. Eating pumpkin and pumpkin seeds regularly is very beneficial to the human body.

The old square melon is orange-red in color and has the effect of lowering blood pressure and preventing diabetes.

TCM perspective

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the Chinese melon is sweet in taste and warm in nature. It has the functions of tonifying the middle and replenishing qi, eliminating phlegm and relieving cough. It can treat qi deficiency and fatigue, intercostal neuralgia, malaria, dysentery and other symptoms. It can also expel roundworms and treat burns. Its seeds - square melon seeds can also be eaten or pressed for oil. Square melon and square melon seeds have certain medicinal value. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that square melon is warm in nature and sweet in taste, and enters the spleen and stomach meridians. It has the functions of tonifying the middle and replenishing qi, relieving inflammation and pain, detoxifying and killing insects. It can be used for qi deficiency and fatigue, intercostal neuralgia, malaria, dysentery, detoxification of opium, expulsion of ascaris, bronchial asthma, diabetes and other symptoms. "Compendium of Materia Medica" says it can "replenish the middle and replenish qi." "Medical Notes" records that it can "benefit the heart and strengthen the lungs."