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Nutritional and Bioactive Profiling of Cucumis melo L. By-Products: Towards a Circular Food Economy

2025-03-13Journal article Open access
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datacite.subject.sdg02:Erradicar a Fome
datacite.subject.sdg03:Saúde de Qualidade
datacite.subject.sdg12:Produção e Consumo Sustentáveis
dc.contributor.authorSilva, Mafalda A.
dc.contributor.authorAlbuquerque, Tânia G.
dc.contributor.authorFerreira, Diana M.
dc.contributor.authorAlves, Rita C.
dc.contributor.authorOliveira, Maria Beatriz P.P.
dc.contributor.authorCosta, Helena S.
dc.date.accessioned2025-11-10T14:09:22Z
dc.date.available2025-11-10T14:09:22Z
dc.date.issued2025-03-13
dc.description(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Sustainability: Promising By-Products for Valorization—2nd Edition)
dc.description.abstractFood waste, due to the high quantities produced, becomes a significant environmental, economic, and social challenge worldwide. Simultaneously, the rising prevalence of chronic diseases has intensified the demand for healthier food options. A promising approach to address these issues involves the valorisation of food by-products for the development of innovative and healthier food products. Cucumis melo L., commonly consumed as a fruit, generates peels and seeds that are typically discarded. In the present study, the nutritional composition and antioxidant potential of pulp, peel, and seeds of C. melo L. (yellow and green melon) were comprehensively evaluated. The seeds were identified as a rich source of dietary fibre (39.0 and 39.7 g/100 g dw; p > 0.05) and protein (21.0 and 21.3 g/100 g dw; p > 0.05), exhibiting an appealing fatty acid profile. The peel contains high levels of dietary fibre (39.7 and 47.1 g/100 g dw; p > 0.05) and total phenolic compounds (1976 and 2212 mg GAE/100 g dw; p > 0.05), suggesting significant bioactive potential. The peels showed a high antioxidant capacity for both methods used, DPPH• (120 and 144 mg TE/100 g dw; p > 0.05) and FRAP (6146 and 7408 mg TE/100 g dw; p > 0.05) assays. Potassium emerged as the predominant mineral in the seeds (799 and 805 mg/100 dw; p > 0.05), while glutamic acid was the most abundant amino acid (4161 and 4327 mg/100 g dw; p > 0.05). These findings emphasise the antioxidant and nutritional properties of C. melo L. by-products, highlighting their potential for inclusion in novel food formulations. This study not only advances the understanding of C. melo L. properties but also supports the reduction of food waste and promotes sustainability within the food supply chain.eng
dc.description.sponsorshipFunding: This work was financially supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT/MES) under the project Food4DIAB (EXPL/BAA-AGR/1382/2021) and MELON4FOOD (2018DAN1492). Acknowledgments: Rita C. Alves gives thanks to FCT/MES under the CEECIND/01120/2017 contract.
dc.identifier.citationMolecules. 2025 Mar 13;30(6):1287. doi: 10.3390/molecules30061287
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/molecules30061287
dc.identifier.eissn1420-3049
dc.identifier.pmid40142061
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/10576
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherMDPI
dc.relationValorisation of fruit by-products as multi-functional food ingredients and functional foods for diabetics
dc.relationAssociated Laboratory for Green Chemistry - Clean Technologies and Processes
dc.relation.hasversionhttps://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/6/1287
dc.relation.ispartofMolecules
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectAntioxidant Potential
dc.subjectFood Waste
dc.subjectFunctional Foods
dc.subjectMelon
dc.subjectNutritional Composition
dc.subjectPeel and Seeds
dc.subjectSustainability
dc.subjectCircular Economy
dc.subjectComposição dos Alimentos
dc.titleNutritional and Bioactive Profiling of Cucumis melo L. By-Products: Towards a Circular Food Economyeng
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardTitleValorisation of fruit by-products as multi-functional food ingredients and functional foods for diabetics
oaire.awardTitleAssociated Laboratory for Green Chemistry - Clean Technologies and Processes
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/3599-PPCDT/EXPL%2FBAA-AGR%2F1382%2F2021/PT
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UID%2FQUI%2F50006%2F2019/PT
oaire.citation.issue6
oaire.citation.startPage1287
oaire.citation.titleMolecules
oaire.citation.volume30
oaire.fundingStream3599-PPCDT
oaire.fundingStream6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
relation.isProjectOfPublicationbe6e847d-5763-407a-b2e0-a89a07e7305d
relation.isProjectOfPublication5961359e-cce9-41c3-a5e6-b6170c28f652
relation.isProjectOfPublication.latestForDiscoverybe6e847d-5763-407a-b2e0-a89a07e7305d

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