MINERAL AND VITAMIN COMPOSITIONS CONTENTS IN WATERMELON PEEL (RIND)

Watermelon (family Cucurbitaceae and species Citrullus lanatus) is a major fruit widely distributed in the tropics and sub tropic regions (Yamaguchi, 2006). It is one of the most important vegetable crops and has large, round, oval or oblong fruit shape, the skin is smooth, with dark green rind or sometimes pale green stripes that turn yellowish green when ripe with very rich source of vitamins (Vitamin A 590 IU, Niacin 0.2 mg/100g and Vit. C 0.7-7.0 mg/100 g), and also serves as a good source of phyto-chemicals (Perkins-Veazie and Collins, 2004). It can be used for breakfast as appetizer or snack (Salk et al., 2008), and (Citrulus lanatus) is a popular thirstquencher during hot summer weather, it has source of carotenoid and lycopene, Lycopene has been found to be protective against a growing list of cancer (Cho, et al., 2004), and is delectable, thirst-quencher which helps quench the inflammable that contributes to conditions like diabetes, atherosclerosis, arthritis, asthma, and colon cancer (Jian et al., 2007). Cucurbit seeds are source of food particularly protein and oil (Hassan et al., 2008).