Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- As you carve your Halloween jack-o-lantern, consider this new finding: That pumpkin holds potential as a treatment for yeast infections in adults and babies.

Korean researchers, reporting online recently in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, examined whether proteins extracted from pumpkin rinds might stop yeast-infection fungus from growing.

Pumpkins have long been used as folk medicine in some regions of the world, and researchers have suggested they might have antibiotic powers.

In the laboratory, one of the proteins stopped the growth of a fungus called Candida albicans that causes vaginal yeast infections, diaper rash and other conditions. No side effects were evident.

The researchers report that the protein found in pumpkins could hold promise as a treatment for people and also help fight fungus that attacks crops.

SOURCE: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, news release, Oct. 29, 2009