Food allergy to pumpkin seed is considered very rare, and only some isolated case reports have so far been published. We report here a case of food anaphylaxis to pumpkin seed in an eight-year-old boy, who tolerated all other edible seeds, peanut and tree nuts, as well as pulp of different kinds of pumpkins and other fruits of the Cucurbitaceae family. From this observation, a review of the botanical, historical, medicinal and allergenic aspects of pumpkin and its seeds is proposed. With the advent of diets rich in omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, edible seeds like pumpkin seed have been incorporated in the modern diet. Their incremental use in the food-processing industry might contribute to an increase in food allergy to pumpkin seed in the future.
Keywords: allergens; child; food allergy; medicinal activity; pumpkin seed.