Biochemical studies on some non conventional sources of protein Part 2. Cucurbitaceae seeds

Proximate composition of the two varieties of watermelon Chilian and Giza I besides Cucumis melo var. Aegyptiacus showed that the ration of ash, crude fibre, crude protein and ether extract was as follows: (4.99, 3.86, 5.65); (2.56, 3.25, 1.17); (38.1, 39.4, 38.6) and (56.0, 54.2, 51.0) respectively. Protein hydrolysis for all the varieties showed the presence of 17 amino acids and 15 in the free state. The acidic amino acid contents of the previous varieties were high compared with others. Glutamic acid followed by aspartic acid, leucines and arginine were generally high in all varieties. Relating essential amino acids a high tryptophan content and relatively low threonine and methionine content is characteristic. Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu were predominant among the microminerals. Na was found to be present in smaller quantities than K and P. The implication of these findings are discussed.