Watermelon, Citrullus

Melon (Cucumis melo, Cucurhitaceae), Muskmelon, Sugarmelon Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus, Cucurhitaceae)... 

People around the world enjoy Africa s culinary contributions. These include the peanut Arachis hypogaea, Fabaceae), yam (Dioscorea spp., Dioscoreaceae), watermelon Citrullus lanatus, Cucurbitaceae), okra Abelmoschus esculentus, Malvaceae) and many other foods and flavors. In North America and in many other parts of the world there is little recognition of the many contributions that Africa has made to modem culture, i.e., perhaps beyond the domain of etlmobotanists and pharmacognosists. 

Kaya, C., Higgs, D., Kirnak, H., Tas, I., 2003. Mycorrhizal colonisation improves fruit yield and water use efficiency in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.) grown nnder well-watered and water-stressed conditions. Plant Soil 253, 287-292. 

More recently, the total volatile composition of distilled cucumbers was investigated by a number of groups (2, ). The steam volatile con unds of muskmelons fCucumis melo) have also received attention (, , 6,) as have those of watermelons (Citrullus vulgaris) (7.) The most striking feature in the volatile con onents of all these fruits is the variety and magnitude of the nine-carbon compounds. These compounds include nonanol, nonanal, various nonenols, nonadienols, nonenals and nonadienals. 

Reddy V.L., Reddy H.K.Y., Reddy P.A.L. and Reddy V.S.O. Wine production by novel yeast biocatalyst prepared by immobilization on watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris) rind pieces and characterization of volatile compounds. Process Biochemistry 43 (7) (2008) 748-752. 

The ornithine cycle [Eq. (8)-(ll)] was proposed by Krebs and Henseleit (1932) to explain urea formation from ammonium derived from amino acid catabolism in the mammalian liver. Since the promulgation of the ornithine cycle was partly based on the natural occurrence of citrulline in juice of the watermelon Citrullus vulgaris) (Wada, 1930), it is not surprising that citrulline is an intermediate in arginine formation in higher plants. 

XLII L-Citrulline watermelon Citrullus lanatus Cucurbitaceae... 

P-Pyrazol-l-yl-L-alanine (2-61), derived from pyrazole, occurs in some plants of the Cucurhitaceae family. It was first isolated from the seeds of watermelon Citrullus lanatus), where it represents approximately 0.1% of dry matter. It also occurs in the seeds of many other melons, squashes and gourds, together with other heterocyclic amino acids such as 3-aminopyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid (2-52). 

Melons Cucumis melo) are relatives of cucumbers. The first melons were bitter, but they were bred to produce sweeter fruit and introduced into Europe from Africa by the Moors. They reached France in the fifteenth century and were taken to the New World by Columbus. Melons and cantaloupes contain high levels of carotenes. Watermelons Citrullus lanatus) are distant relatives of melons, widely spread throughout Africa. They were known to the Egyptians and wild watermelons grow in the Kalahari Desert. Watermelons were introduced to Europe in the fifteenth century. Watermelon can contain high levels of carotenes, particularly lycopene 23-72 mg/1 have been reported (van den Berg et al. 2000). 

---