Colors of Chemistry from CAS

红色的西瓜不仅是一种清凉可口的食物，还是有益健康的能量源泉，富含多种维生素和营养成份。西瓜的红色瓜瓤含有大量蕃茄红素，这是一种高效抗氧化剂，有助于保护各种人体细胞机能不受损害，并可减少患心脏病和某些类型癌症的风险。事实上，西瓜的蕃茄红素含量高于任何其他新鲜水果或蔬菜。西瓜的原产地是非洲的撒哈拉沙漠，其历史可追溯至史前时代，第一次有史料记载的采收发生于将近五千年前的埃及。西瓜不久便通过亚洲和欧洲的商业贸易传遍世界各地。如今，色彩艳丽、营养丰富的西瓜共有逾1,200个品种，全年均可采收，实在令人无法小觑。

Related Record from CAplus

146: 461187 Watermelons and health. Perkins-Veazie, Penelope; Collins, Julie K.; Wu, Guoyao; Clevidence, Beverly (Agricultural Research Service, South Central Agricultural, Research Laboratory, U.S. Dept. Agriculture, Lane, OK, USA). Acta Horticulturae (Proceedings of the IIIrd International Symposium on Cucurbits) 2007, 731. 2005, 121-127.(Eng). In addn. to vitamin A, C and potassium, watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) also contains lycopene, citrulline, and arginine. Lycopene is the pigment that imparts red color to some fruits, most notably tomato and watermelon. It is also a highly efficient oxygen radical scavenger and has been implicated in human studies as providing protection against cardiovascular disease and some cancers, particularly that of the prostate. Watermelons contain as much or more lycopene than tomatoes but have been little studied. Over the last six years, we have conducted numerous studies with watermelon to evaluate germplasm, storage and minimal processing effects on lycopene levels. Addnl., we conducted a cooperative human clin. study with watermelon and tomato juice to det. lycopene uptake in humans. Assays of human plasma after watermelon ingestion indicated that lycopene was as bio-available from watermelon juice as from tomato juice. Citrulline and arginine are amino acids found in watermelon and are major components of the human nitrous oxide system and help regulate many biochem. processes. Citrulline lacks biol. importance on its own but is transformed by the human body into arginine. Arginine is used in the nitric oxide pathway to help in vasodilatation and overall cardiovascular health. Our recent work with citrulline identified that it is present in watermelons in the peel, rind, and flesh. Following the lycopene human clin. trial we measured the citrulline levels in the human plasma from the subjects who ingested watermelon juice. Plasma levels of citrulline were highest in subjects who consumed six cups of watermelon juice per day. Further studies with these unique compds. found in watermelon are ongoing.

Related Structure from CAS REGISTRY

Lycopene

CAS Registry Number: 502-65-8