Pumpkin recently made a place for itself in the list of vegetables which offer therapeutic benefits after a research confirmed that proteins in the vegetable's skin have the potential to kill many germs which cause infection. In what is being pegged as one of the year's most interesting finds, the study said that pumpkin skin can effectively fight even drug resistant germs, including a fungus which currently attacks million of Americans each year.

Conducted in South Korea's Chosun University, the study confirmed that one protein found in the skin of Pumpkin was unusually effective in killing and curbing the growth of Candid albicans, without any toxic side-effects. C. Albicans has been held responsible for causing conditions such as vaginal infections, diaper rashes and many other health problems.

The study has been published in the latest issue of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and authored by Kyung-Soo Hahm and Yoonkyung Park. Pumpkin has long been used in folk medicine in many countries, and the latest find will help the medicinal properties of the vegetable be known far and wide.