Biochemical and nutritional studies of pulp, seeds, and peels of citron melon (C Itrullus Sp. )‎ among obese albino rats

Abstract EN

The objective of this study was to reduce obesity in rats fed a high-fat diet using citron melon plant parts.

Fifty (50) male albino rats (Sprague- Dawley strain) (140±10g each) were used and divided into two main groups.

The first main group (5 rats): negative control fed on a standard diet along with the experiment and the second main group (45 rats) (225 ± 20g), fed on a high-fat diet (10% cheap fat for 21 days to induce obesity) then were divided randomly into nine subgroups (5 rats each).

Subgroup 1: positive control fed on a standard diet, subgroups 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 were fed on a standard diet containing 2.5, 5% citron melon pulp (juice), 2.5, 5% citron melon seeds powder, 2.5, 5% citron melon peels powder, 2.5 and 5% mix of all parts (juice + powder), respectively.

At the end of the experiment 28 days, the rats were sacrificed and blood samples were collected for analysis.

In comparison with other experimental groups, the results indicated that diet 5% citron melon peels significantly decreased bodyweight, T.

C, T.

G, LDL, VLDL, AI, and blood glucose (P ≤ 0.05), while diet 5% citron melon pulp revealed the highest increase in serum HDL level (P ≤ 0.05) compared with control positive group.

In conclusion, citron melon peels were effective in reducing body weight among obese rats, and they may be a promising supplement for bodyweight reduction.