Muskmelon (Cucumis melo.): Comprehensive revi...

Muskmelon (Cucumis melo.): Comprehensive review

Author Name : Manpreet Kaur, Amy Masih, Dr. Barinderjit Singh

ABSTRACT

Muskmelon (Cucumis  melo ) is an excellent, succulent, scrumptious product of the Cucurbitaceae family, which holds 118-119 genera including 825 species. Muskmelon is grown on the whole tropical and subtropical territories of the world for its nutrition and therapeutic worth. It is acquiring parcel of significance because of its brief span, high production potential with high nutritive worth, taste, delicacy and furthermore its appropriateness for development under irrigated and rainfed conditions consistently. It is known as muskmelon in English and Kharbooja in Hindi. The phytoconstituents of the plant β-carotenes, ascorbic acid, terpenoids, volatile components, chromone derivatives, flavonoids,  apocarotenoids, carbohydrates, amino acids, phospholipids, glycolipids, fatty acids, and various minerals. Cucumis  melo  has been appeared to have useful culinary and medicinal properties like analgesic, hepato-protective, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, diuretic,  free radical scavenging, anti-fertility activity, anti-platelet, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, anti-ulcer,  anthelmintic and anti-cancer. Utilization and sales of muskmelon are principally as fresh market fruit. To amplify returns to cultivators and processors, there is need for use of overabundance production and sort-outs such as deformed, over and under-sized commodities, in value added products. For example, production of muskmelon juice concentrate offers one such chance. Moreover, the high muskmelon utilization delivers an enormous amount of waste materials, for example, strips and seeds that are as yet rich in constituents like polyphenols, carotenoids, and other organically dynamic components that likewise have a positive impact on human wellbeing and health. A manageable advancement in agro-food and agro-industry areas could get through the reutilization and valorisation of these squanders, which thusly, could bring about decreasing their ecological effect. Accordingly, it is obvious that muskmelon have a wide scope of useful properties, which can be inspected. The current review conceals thoroughly to-date data on nutritional and phytochemical constituents of muskmelon, its wastage & by products and the different methods used for the dehydration, extraction and analysis of its chemical constituents.

Keywords : Cucumis  melo ., Harvesting, Kharbooj, Muskmelon, Nutrition, Phenolics, Pigments, Waste, Uses.