Cucumis melo Fruit flavors

Melon, Cucumis melo, is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family and grows best in tropical regions. The pulp of the fruit has pleasant flavor and taste, and the seeds are generally treated as waste however, medicinal effects have been reported for the seeds (24, 25). Hexane-extracted seed oil of Cucumis melo hybrid AF-522 was determined to contain 64 g of linoleic acid per 100 g of total fatty acids (Table 4) (24). Significant amounts of oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids were also detected in the melon seed oil. The specific gravity (28°C), refractive index (28°C), and iodine value of the seed oil were 0.9000, 1.4820, and 112, respectively, under the experimental conditions (24). Earlier in 1986, Lazos (25) extracted the oil from Cucumis melo seeds and examined its physicochemical properties (25). Linoleic acid was the primary fatty acid and accounted for 64.6% of the total fat (w/w), along with 20.1% oleic acid, and 14.7% total saturated fatty acids (Table 4). Iodine value and refractive index (40°) of the seed oil were 124.5 and 1.4662, respectively. 

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