FUW TRENDS IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(A Peer Review Journal)
e–ISSN: 2408–5162; p–ISSN: 2048–5170
keywords: Citrullus lanatus, phytochemical, proximate, seed, extract
In this study the seeds of Citrullus lanatus were analyzed for their phytochemical compositions. The phytochemical screening result indicates that the seeds contain alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, glycosides, steroids, terpenoids and saponins. The quantitative analysis for total alkaloids, saponins and flavonoids contents showed that Citrullus lanatus contains 35.613% alkaloids, 4.216% flavonoids and 1.820% saponins. The proximate composition results showed that the mean nutritional content of the Citrullus lanatus seeds contain (4.20±0.01) moisture (2.70±0.02) ash, (7.20±0.01) crude fibre, (32.08±0.03) crude protein, (30.30±0.01) crude lipid, and (23.52±0.04) carbohydrates contents. The proximate analysis also shows that the seeds of Citrullus lanatus havehigh fibre, proteins and lipids contents. The ash content also indicates that the seeds of Citrullus lanatus contain some minerals. Thus, Citrullus lanatus seeds can be used as food supplements.
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