Chemical composition and bioactive compounds of Cucumis melo L. seeds: Potential source for new trends of plant oils

- Melon seeds of Maazoun variety contain nutrients as protein, fibers and minerals.
- Melon seeds could be interesting as functional ingredient for industrial applications.
- Seeds provide a promising source of oil which is present in considerable amount.
- Melon seed oil contains essential fatty acids and biocompounds as polyphenols, phytosterols and tocopherols.
- Melon seed oil is a renewable source of natural antioxidants which may be an interesting dietary supplement.

Studies were conducted on the chemical composition of melon (Cucumis melo L.) seeds, Maazoun variety. Melon seeds were found to contain (on a dry weight basis): moisture (7.16%), oil (30.65%), protein (27.41%), ash (4.83%), carbohydrate (29.96%), fibers (25.32%) and considerable amounts of antioxidant substances as phenolic compounds. The major mineral elements were: potassium, magnesium and calcium. The chemical composition of oil extracted from melon seeds was investigated. The main fatty acids of melon seed oil were linoleic acid and oleic acid. The chromatographic analysis of phenolic compounds showed that flavonoids were the most important group with predominance of amentoflavone (32.80 μg/g). Besides, melon seed oil presented considerable amounts of phytosterols in which β-sitosterol was the major sterol accounting for 206.42 mg/100 g. The seed oil was also found to be rich in tocopherols with a predominance of β+γ-tocopherol fraction. The obtained results revealed that melon seeds presented an alternative source of plant oil which may serve as raw material for food applications.