Potentially High Value Conjugated Linolenic Acids(CLnA) in Melon Seed Waste
2019
Conjugated linolenic acids (CLnAs)
are natural phytochemicals with
known and potential bioactivities in mammals. Established CLnA sources
are limited to a few common fruit seeds, notably pomegranate seeds
and cherry pits, and the search for alternatives is impeded in part
by cumbersome methods for reliable measurement. We investigated CLnA
contents in lower value fruit seeds with a recently available facile
mass spectrometry method, solvent-mediated chemical ionization, enabling
and quantitative analysis. We report for the first time the detection
of CLnAs in cantaloupe and honeydew seeds at levels of 2 mg CLnA/g
seed kernel. Based on the combined waste stream for these muskmelons
of about 1.4 billion pounds in the USA annually, we estimate that
the available CLnAs amount to 37.5 tons, similar to cherry pits. Our
results suggest the potentially enhanced economic value of a specific
class of bioactives that may be extracted from discarded food processing
waste.
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