Cucurbitacins are a class of biochemical compounds that some plants – notably members of the pumpkin and gourd family, Cucurbitaceae – produce and which function as a defense against herbivores.
Zhang et al. (2014) identified nine cucumber genes in the pathway for biosynthesis of cucurbitacin C and elucidated four catalytic steps.
[16][7] Cucurbitacins are under basic research for their biological properties, including toxicity and potential pharmacological uses in development of drugs for inflammation, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, among others.
[17][18] In France in 2018, two women who ate soup made from bitter pumpkins became sick, involving nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and had hair loss weeks later.
[19] Another French study of poisoning from bitter squash consumption found similar acute illnesses and no deaths.