## 3 Results and Discussion
### Antioxidant/Antimedical Activity  
The extraction conditions and the experimental values of TPC, ABTS, DPPH and FRAP assays are presented in Table 1. The TPC varied from 12.17 mg GAE/g DW (UAE condition 1) to 16.89 mg GAE/g DW (MAE condition 2). These results are in line with the results obtained by HPLC-PDA analysis (Section 3.4), which confirmed that the MAE condition 2 extract has the highest content in phenolic compounds, while the UAE condition 1 extract achieved one of the lowest. The TPC values are considerably higher than the ones obtained for _C. pepo_ seeds extracted using acetone as a solvent in an Ultra Turax mixer (8.37 mg GAE/g DW) [76]. The TPC of MAE condition 2 extract is in line with the value reported by [PERSON] et al. [77] for an ethanolic extract of _C. pepo_ leaves and stems (17.49 mg GAE/g DW), using the cold extraction method. Oppositely, conventional extracts of _C. pepo_ fresh seeds dried at 65 \({}^{\circ}\)C and prepared with ultrapure water displayed a substantially lower content (2.39 mg GAE/g DW) [78]. The TPC values are also considerably higher than the ones reported for _C. maxima_ seed oil extracted using chloroform/methanol (54.41 mg GAE/Kg) as solvent [79]. Moreover, [PERSON] et al. obtained a TPC of 9.82 mg of catechin equivalents (CAE)/g of _C. pepo_ seed extract using a mixture of 80:20 methanol/water (\(v/v\)) as solvent, and a solid material to solvent ratio of 1:10 (\(w/v\)) in an ultrasonic water bath [27]. Nevertheless, the units used by the authors are not the same, making it not possible to completely compare. Regarding the DPPH assay, the results ranged from 4.35 mg TE/g DW (UAE condition 1) to 5.08 mg TE/g DW (MAE condition 2), with no significant differences between the extracts. These values are lower than the ones reported using conventional extracts of _C. pepo_ fresh seeds dried at 65 \({}^{\circ}\)C and employing water as a solvent (118.19 umol of TE/g) [78]. As far as we know, no more studies have been performed regarding the scavenging capacity of this radical. In regards to the antioxidant activity evaluated by the FRAP assay, the MAE condition 1 extract achieved the best result (71.09 umol FSE/g DW), while the UAE condition 2 extract achieved the worst (45.80 umol FSE/g DW). These values are in line with the ones reported by [PERSON] et al. (54 umol FSE/g DW) for _C. pepo_ seeds using 80:20 methanol/water (\(v/v\)) as a solvent [27]. Nevertheless, it should be highlighted that these authors used organic solvents, while in the present study, water was the only solvent employed. Concerning the ABTS assay, the results varied between 11.38 mg AAE/g DW (UAE condition 2) and 13.29 mg AAE/g DW (MAE condition 1), with no significant differences between extracts. These results are not in accordance with the TPC ones, which could be justified by the ABTS mechanism of assay. The ABTS assay measures the relative ability of the antiradical compounds present in the extracts to scavenge the ABTS\({}^{\star+}\) cation generated in vitro. Nevertheless, some matrixes may have interferents, which do not scavenge the cation and lead to worse results. Therefore, the antiradical assays should always combine different radical assays (such as ABTS or DPPH).