Pectin-like polysaccharide extracted from <i>Cucumis melo</i> pulp: physicochemical, antioxidant, and skin hydration efficacy

<i>Cucumis melo</i> (currently accepted name of <i>Luffa cylindrica</i>) is a Cucurbitaceae vegetable with several biological activities. Polysaccharides from the fruit of <i>C. melo</i> were extracted and evaluated, producing a high extractive yield (17.20 ± 0.65%). The following physicochemical properties were provided: solubility and swelling capacity (99.51 ± 0.07% and 2.00 ± 0.00%, respectively), with a pH of 6.47 ± 0.02. The total polysaccharide content consisted of 0.23 ± 0.01 mg glucose/mg extract, while the total phenolic content was 19.99 ± 0.12 mg GAE/g extract, posing antioxidant activity on DPPH at IC₅₀ of 214.38 ± 6.96 µg/mL. It was assumed from FT-IR that the extract consisted of pectin-like polysaccharides and other water-soluble polysaccharides. An <i>in vivo</i> study involving 20 volunteers showed that it did not cause skin irritation. A single application of the polysaccharide extract solutions (1.0 and 5.0% w/v) showed significantly greater short-term skin hydrating efficacy than the benchmark (<i>p</i> < 0.05), especially after 210 min, indicating its potential as a skin moisturising ingredient for cosmetics.