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• Purpose of the study: This study aimed to formulate yellow pumpkin seed (Cucurbita moschata) powder-based multivitamin gummies and evaluate how varying sucrose and stevia concentrations affected physical characteristics, microbiological quality, zinc concentration, and consumer acceptability.

  Methodology: This laboratory experimental study used nine formulations: control (F0), sucrose (F1–F4; 30–45%), and stevia (F1–F4; 0.30–0.45%). Evaluations included organoleptic characteristics, weight uniformity, cutting point, homogeneity, stability, microbiological quality, zinc content by AAS, and hedonic acceptability. We analyzed cutting point data using One-Way ANOVA, while we analyzed hedonic results descriptively based on mean scores from 20 respondents.

  Main Findings: Both sucrose and stevia groups showed significant differences in cut-off point values (p = 0.002 and p = 0.001, respectively). F3 showed cut-off point values of 122 ± 6 g for sucrose and 121.67 ± 5.77 g for stevia. Microbiological testing of F3 showed negative Salmonella sp. results, while ALT and AKK met the requirements. Zinc concentrations were 2.9761 and 2.168 mg/L, respectively. F3 obtained the highest hedonic mean scores, 4.63 for sucrose and 4.45 for stevia.

  Novelty/Originality of this study: This study provides a formulation approach using yellow pumpkin seed powder rather than an extract and compares sucrose and stevia systems across concentrations. The study identified F3 as a promising formulation based on its characteristics and descriptive acceptability. The study also clarifies that microbiological and zinc results were obtained only from tested F3 samples, supporting further formulation optimization and broader quality evaluation. 

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  “Formulation of Pumpkin Seed (Cucurbita moschata) Powder Multivitamin Gummies with Varying Concentrations of Added Sucrose and Stevia Sweeteners”, In. Sci. Ed. J, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 952–963, Sep. 2026, doi: 10.37251/isej.v7i5.3735.

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