Preliminary Investigations on the Health Benefits of Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad Seeds

Aims: To evaluate the composition of Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad seed as a means of assessing its health and possible therapeutic benefits.

Study Design: Test-tube Lab Research.

Place and Duration of Study: Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Nigeria, between June 2018 and March 2019.

Methodology: Intact dehulled Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad seeds were analyzed for their proximate and elemental content using standard methods and atomic absorption spectroscopy, respectively. The seed oil was extracted with n-hexane via cold maceration and the extracted oil was analyzed for its physiochemical properties. The fatty acid profile was determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Results: The proximate analysis values were determined to be 6.51%, 51.46%, 21.62%, 13.26%, 3.76% and 3.39% for the moisture, crude fat, crude protein, crude fiber, ash and total carbohydrate content respectively. Results of the elemental analysis show the seed contains; 3653.0322 mg/kg Na, 6639.7818 mg/kg K, 2329.0612 mg/kg Ca, 235.6057 mg/kg Fe, 5252.5884 mg/kg Mg, 27.9056 mg/kg Zn and 7.0068 mg/kg Pb. The predominant fatty acid detected with an area percentage of 20.31 was cis-11-octadecenoic acid. Other fatty acids detected include cis-9, cis-12-octadecadienoic acid, cis-9-octadecenoic, hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid and icosanoic acid. Squalene, a biosynthetic precursor of cholesterol, was detected with an area percentage of 8.54.

Conclusion: The evaluation of the compositional data provided evidential support for its beneficial health impact particularly in regards to nutritional and cardio-vascular health.