High Food Potential Seeds: Physicochemical Composition of Cucurbit Cultivars in Ivory Coast

The richness in protein and oil of curcubit seeds is highly coveted in the food field. In addition, in the cosmetics industry, it is a very popular ingredient. The oils of these seeds contain a diversity of fatty acids that can be advantageous during topical application. This study evaluated the physicochemical properties of the seeds and seed oils of five cucurbits (<i>Cucumeropsis Mannii, Citrullus colocynthis, Cucumis Melo, Citrullus mucosospermus, and Citrullus lanatus</i>) cultivars cultivated in Ivory Coast. Analysis of free fatty acid composition revealed a high linoleic acid content ranging from 24 and 70%. As well as the presence of α-linolenic acid (6.8 - 8.6%) and γ-linolenic acid (7.3 - 8.2%) in Citrullus colocynthis and Citrullus mucosospermus oils. The water and dry matter contents of the kernels vary between 3 and 4% and between 96 and 97%. The kernels of these cucurbits are rich in protein, with a high content of 25.9 ± 0.4% for Cucumeropsis Mannii, 29.0 ± 1.2% for Citrullus <i>colocynthis</i>, 24.1 ± 0.6% for <i>Cucumis</i> Melo, 24.8 ± 0.5% for <i>Citrullus mucosospermus</i> and 25.5 ± 0.4% for <i>Citrullus lanatus.</i> The quantity of lipids extracted by the Soxhlet method varied from 42 to 55%. These lipids have low acidity levels varying between 1.13 ± 0.1 to 2.01 ± 0.3% with densities of approximately 0.92 ± 0.01. The iodine values determined for these oils vary between 114.23 ± 0.2 to 122.15 ± 0.3. As for the saponification index, they are between (190 to 202 mgKOH/g).