Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9749010 | Journal of Chromatography A | 2005 | 5 Pages |
Abstract
Watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris Schrad.) is a natural and rich source of the non-essential amino acid citrulline. Citrulline is used in the nitric oxide system in humans and has potential antioxidant and vasodilatation roles. A method using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed to separate citrulline from glutamic acid, which co-elute when analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Watermelons were analyzed by GC-MS to determine the citrulline content among varieties, types, flesh colors, and tissues. Citrulline content ranged from 3.9 to 28.5Â mg/g dry weight (dwt) and was similar between seeded and seedless types (16.6 and 20.3Â mg/g dwt, respectively). Red flesh watermelons had slightly less citrulline than the yellow or orange flesh watermelons (7.4, 28.5 and 14.2Â mg/g dwt, respectively). Rind contained more citrulline than flesh on a dry weight basis (24.7 and 16.7Â mg/g dwt, respectively) but a little less on a fresh weight (fwt) basis (1.3 and 1.9Â mg/g fwt, respectively). These results indicate that watermelon rind, an underutilized agricultural waste, offers a source of natural citrulline.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry
Authors
Agnes M. Rimando, Penelope M. Perkins-Veazie,