Melon Seeds to Be Utilized as Dietary Supplements

Melon Seeds to Be Used as Dietary Supplement and Cosmetic Product Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hüdayi Ercoşkun, Faculty of Engineering, Food Engineering Department at Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi (ÇAKÜ), determined through his research on melon seeds that these seeds can be used as dietary supplements and cosmetic products. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hüdayi Ercoşkun conducted research on melons, which are grown abundantly in the region. As a result of his research, Ercoşkun found that melon seeds extracted using the cold-press method can be used as dietary supplements and creams. Ercoşkun provided explanations regarding his research. Assoc. Prof. Ercoşkun stated that evaluating a product with a long shelf life and high added value is important from a food engineering perspective, and also mentioned that they had previously produced products such as melon paste and melon vinegar. A Product with Very High Cosmetic and Dietary Supplement Value Ercoşkun stated: "Most recently, we produced various cosmetic products from melon seeds. Dried melon seed contains a very significant amount of oil, nearly 50 percent. Approximately 50 percent of that oil is linolenic acid. Linolenic acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid. That is, it is a fatty acid we need to consume daily. Melon seed oil is a vegetable oil that can be compared to fish oils in terms of unsaturation. From this perspective, melon seed oil is a product with very high cosmetic value and dietary supplement value." Ercoşkun also noted that melon seed oil is important because it contains more unsaturated fatty acids than fish oil. Ercoşkun stated: "Many foreign companies use the essential oils or certain products of melons, watermelons, cucumbers and similar products in cosmetics. Actually, melon seed oil is important because it contains polyunsaturated fatty acids far more effective than any of these. It is a product that can be used both as a dietary supplement and as a moisturizing, rejuvenating cream. Melon season is just beginning in Çankırı. A very significant amount of melons are produced, but unfortunately a large portion of these melons does not reach consumers, and an important portion has to be destroyed either because it cannot be sold or for price regulation purposes. Converting these melons into melon concentrate, melon paste, melon halva, melon marmalade, melon candy, melon vinegar, and ultimately into cosmetic products and food supplements containing melon seed oil are studies we have conducted in our department with positive results. Hopefully an investor will emerge and utilize these." "Slows Down Cancer Formation Related to Oxidation" Ercoşkun also emphasized the importance of polyunsaturated fatty acids for the body and stated: "What we call aging in the body is a form of oxidation. Polyunsaturated fatty acids like fish oil slow down aging reactions in the body. It slows down the cancer formation process, cancer formation related to oxidation. From this perspective, polyunsaturated fatty acids need to be consumed continuously. One of the most natural sources of this, along with fish oil, is melon seed oil. Another colleague of ours investigated whether this effect exists in watermelon seeds, but we could not observe this effect in watermelon seeds." Source