BIOSCIENCES BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH ASIA, June 2016. Vol.

13(2), 1113-1119

Comparison of the Nutritional, Physico-chemical and

Anti-nutrient Properties of Freeze and Hot Air Dried
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Rind
Akshaya Mohan, Sasikala Shanmugam and V. Nithyalakshmi

Food Process Engineering, SRM University, Chennai, India.

http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/2140

(Received: 29 March 2016; accepted: 02 May 2016)

The preservation of food by drying is one of the most commonly used methods
in the food processing industry. Watermelon belongs to the family of Cucurbitaceae .The
processing of watermelon generates a large amount of waste in the form of rind, peel and
seeds. The watermelon rind is an under- utilised waste generated after the consumption
of the fruit. Watermelon rind contains vitamin C, dietary fiber, citrulline, potassium, a
small amount of vitamin B-6.It is also known to contain a variety of bioactive compounds
like cucurbitacin, triterpenes, sterols and alkaloid. The citrulline in watermelon rind
gives it antioxidant effects that protect the body from free-radical damage. In this study
efforts have been made to dry and preserve the watermelon rind by hot air drying and
freeze drying technique. The water absorption capacity, rehydration ratio and the solubility
of the freeze dried watermelon rind powder were found to be 11.42±0.6 (g/g), 9±0.8 (g/g)
and 8±0.5% respectively. Hot air drying significantly reduced the water absorption capacity
of the watermelon rind while it increased the water solubility and bulk density. The
tannins ,alkaloids and saponin content were found to be lesser in hot iar dried samples
compared to freeze dried.

Keywords: Watermelon Rind, Hot air drying, Freeze Drying, Anti-nutrients.

INTRODUCTION discarded. Consuming a diet rich in fruits and

vegetables has shown to have significantly lower
Fruits and vegetables contain a variety rates of occurrence of many types of cancers1.
of nutrients like carbohydrate, proteins, fats, fibres Despite this fact, not much importance has been
and phytochemicals. A regular consumption of given to the vitamins, minerals, fibres,
these will significantly reduce the risk of chronic phytochemicals and antioxidant in the pulps, seeds
diseases and also help in meeting the nutrient and rinds of fruits and vegetables.
requirement for optimum health. Agro-wastes are the large volumes of
Consumption of a large variety of fruits solids waste resulting from the production,
and vegetables is commonly practised all around preparation andconsumption of fruit and vegetable
the world, but it is only the pulp of the fruits that pose potential disposal and pollution problems
is consumed. The rind and the seeds are usually along with loss of valuable biomass and nutrients.
There is a potential for conversion of agro-wastes
into useful products or even as raw material for
other industries. The utilization of wastes of fruit
* To whom all correspondence should be addressed. and vegetable processing as a source of functional
E-mail:[email protected] ingredients is a promising field2.
1114 MOHAN et al., Biosci., Biotech. Res. Asia, Vol. 13(2), 1113-1119 (2016)

Watermelon belongs to the the relatively high production cost is a major

Cucurbitaceae family, which include melons, drawback of the process.
cucumbers and pumpkins. Watermelon is generally
grown in the warmer regions of the world. MATERIALSAND METHODS
3 main cultivar groups of watermelon have been
identified: Collection of raw materials
• Citroides group Fresh watermelon with dark and light
• Lanatus group green stripes was chosen. Watermelon rinds were
• Vulgaris group collected from a local market and were used fresh.
Watermelon rinds are avoided by most Preparation of watermelon rind for drying
people due to their unappealing flavour but they The whole fruit was first washed and the
are found to contain many hidden nutrients3.Only rind was separated from the flesh. The rind was
half of the watermelon fruit is edible while the other then grated to reduce its size.
half, consisting of the rind and peel goes for a Hot air drying
waste. The skin of the watermelon is smooth, with 100g of the grated watermelon rind
dark green or pale green stripes that turn yellowish samples were subjected to drying at 50°C. The oven
green when ripe4. was preheated to the required temperature and
The rind is not as juicy as the flesh of the then the single layer loaded trays were kept. The
watermelon, but is edible. A 1-inch cube of temperature was maintained at 50°C and the
watermelon rind contains approximately 1.8 calories. process was carried out until the rind was
One serving provides 2% of the recommended completely dried. The loss in weight of the samples
intake of vitamin C and 1 percent of the vitamin B- was noted every half hour. Drying was carried out
6 required by the body every day. Watermelon rinds until the samples reached constant weight.
also offer a high dose of L-citruline – an amino Freeze drying
acid – which helps in dilating blood vessels, 200g of watermelon rind was ground in a
improve blood circulation and gives watermelon mixer and poured into plates and kept for pre-
its antioxidant effects5. freezing at 4 °C for 2 days. The plates were then
Drying of food products is a very freeze dried at -40°C at a pressure of -3mbar for 3
challenging process of food industry as most food days to obtain freeze dried watermelon rind powder.
products are subjected to some form of drying Determination of proximate analysis
during their production6. The proximate analysis of the watermelon
Hot air-drying is more commonly used in rind was carried out according to Association of
food industry as it is relatively cheaper but the Official Analytical Chemists9. All the analysis were
prolonged drying time usually results in inferior done in triplicates.
product quality7. Determination of ash content
Freeze-drying, also known The inorganic matter left over after the
as lyophilisation or cryodesiccation is a process of organic matter has been completely destroyed is
removal of water and is used to preserve a material represented by ash content. 2g of the sample was
or make the material more convenient for transport. kept in muffle furnace at 525°C for 4-6 hours.Weight
The principal of freeze-drying involves freezing the of ash was determined using the formula,
material and then reducing the
surrounding pressure so as to allow the frozen
water to sublimate directly from the solid phase to
the gaseous phase. Due to absence of liquid water Determination of Fat Content
and low temperature processing, most of the 2g of dried sample was weighed and taken
biochemical and microbiological reactions are in a thimble and extraction was carried out for 4
inhibited which provides very good quality of the hours in soxhlet apparatus. After extraction, the
final product8. solvent (n- hexane) was completely evaporated and
Among the various drying processes, the residue is weighed.
freeze-drying provides highest product quality but
 MOHAN et al., Biosci., Biotech. Res. Asia, Vol. 13(2), 1113-1119 (2016) 1115

The solid material is then weighed and rehydration

ratio is calculated as

Determination of Moisture content (RR)

The moisture content was determined
using the air oven method. The samples were dried
in the oven at 105 °C. The moisture content of the
samples was calculated as: Determination of Water absorption capacity
(WAC)
The WAC of the samples was determined
using the method described by11. 0.5g of sample
was weighed into a tube and vortexed with 20ml of
Determination of carbohydrate content distilled water. The tubes were then heated on a
The carbohydrate content of the samples water bath at 60°C for 30minutes and then were
was determined using Anthrone method. The cooled to room temperature and centrifuged at 2200
carbohydrate content of the samples is determined rpm for 15min.The pellet is weighed and water
from the standard glucose plot. absorption capacity of the sample is measured
Determination of protein content using the formula:
The protein content of the samples was
determined using Lowry’s method. BSA (Bovine
serum Albumin) is used as standard and the protein Determination of Solubility
content of samples is determined from standard 1g of watermelon rind powder is mixed
plot. with 10ml distilled water in a centrifuge tube. The
Determination of Physical Properties centrifuge tube is heated to 80ÚC for 30 minutes
Determination of colour with continuous shaking. The tube is removed from
The colour index of the dried watermelon the bath, wiped dry, cooled to room temperature
rind samples were measured using a –Colour Quest and centrifuged for 15 minutes at 2200 rpm. The
XE Hunter Colour Meter, based on the L* a* b* supernatant is evaporated, and the residue is
colour system. L* represents the lightness on a 0 weighed to determine the solubility. Solubility is
– 100 scale from black to white while a* and b* determined using the formula.
denote the hues which represent two colour axes
with a* denoting redness (+) or greenness (–) and
b* denoting yellowness (+) or blueness (–). The Determination of bulk density,tap density Hausner
equipment is calibrated using a white tile. The Ratio (HR) and Carr’s Index(CI):
whiteness index (WI) is used to indicate the overall The parameters were determined
whiteness of the food product and also the extent according to12. Bulk density- 2g of watermelon rind
of colour loss during the drying process. The powder (W) was added to a pre-weighedvolumetric
whiteness index is calculated as: cylinder and the volume was read as V1.
Tapped density- 2g of sample is placed
into a measuring cylinder and tapped until a
Determination of Rehydration ratio (RR) consistent volume (V2) is reached which
RR was determined according to the corresponds to the maximum packing density of
method described by10. Rehydration ratio is an the material.
important factor for dehydrated products.5 g of By measuring both the untapped volume
dried sample was mixed with 150ml of water and and the tapped volume the following parameters
poured into a beaker and kept for 50 or 60 min for were be determined:
soaking. The mixture is then boiled and the liquid
portion is drained off. The solid material is placed
on a filter paper and excess water was removed.
1116 MOHAN et al., Biosci., Biotech. Res. Asia, Vol. 13(2), 1113-1119 (2016)

samples powder was put into a conical flask and

100 ml of 20% aqueous ethanol were added. The
samples were heated over a hot water bath for 4 h
with continuous stirring at about 55°C. The mixture
was filtered and the residue re-extracted with
another 200 ml 20% ethanol. The combined extracts
were reduced to 40 ml over water bath at about
90°C. The concentrate was transferred into a 250
ml separating funnel and 20ml of diethyl ether was
added and shakenvigorously. The aqueous layer
Determination of Anti-nutrients was recovered while the ether layer was discarded.
Determination of alkaloid content The purification process was repeated. 60 ml of n-
The alkaloid content of the samples was butanol was added. The combined extracts were
determined as per the method described by13.5 g washed twice with 10 ml of 5% aqueous sodium
of the sample was weighed into a 250 ml beaker chloride. The remaining solution was heated in a
and 200 ml of 10% acetic acid in ethanol was added waterbath. After evaporation the samples were
and covered and allowed to stand for 4 hours. This dried in the oven to a constant weight and
was filtered and the extract was concentrated on a thesaponin content was calculated as percentage.
water bath to one-quarter of the original volume. Statistical analysis
Concentrated ammonium hydroxide was added Data were expressed as means ± standard
dropwise to the extract until the precipitation was deviation (SD) of three replications and statistical
complete. The whole solution was allowed to settle analysis was done using SPSS program (version
and the precipitated was collected and washed with 19.0 SPSS Inc.).The values were considered to be
dilute ammonium hydroxide and then filtered. The significantly different when p<0.05.
residue is the alkaloid, which was dried and weighed.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Proximate analysis
Determination of Tannin Content Carbohydrate content of the samples did
Tannin content was determined by the not vary significantly between the different drying
method described by14. techniques. The moisture content of freeze dried
About 0.2 g of finely ground samples was sample was found to be lower than the hot air dried
weighed into a 500 ml sample bottle.10 ml of 70 % samples. The fresh watermelon rind was found to
aqueous acetone was added and properly covered. contain 0.15% protein. Freeze drying was found to
The bottles were put in an ice bath shaker for 2 protect the native protein structure in comparison
hours at 30ºC. Each solution was then centrifuged to the hot air drying which brought about
and the supernatant stored in ice. 0.2 cm3 of each denaturation of the protein structure. Ash content
solution was pipette into the test tubes and 0.8ml of the freeze dried sample was found to be higher
of distilled water was added.Standard tannin in comparison to the hot air dried samples. The
solutions were prepared from a 0.5 mg/ml stock results obtained were in accordance with7. The
and the solution made up to 1 ml with distilled results are tabulated in table 1.
water. 0.5ml Folin-ciocalteu’s reagent was added Determination of Density parameters
to both sample and Standard followed by 2.5 ml of Watermelon rind dried by freeze drying
20 % Na2CO3. The solutions were then vortexed and hot air drying showed significant difference in
and allowed to incubate for 40 minutes at room bulk density values. The density of the samples
temperature. Its absorbance was read at 725 nm was found to vary linearly with moisture content.
against a reagent blank concentration of the same The results obtained were in accordance with [7].
solution from a standard tannic acid curve. The results are tabulated in table 2.
Determination of Saponin content
The method used was that of15. 20 g of
 MOHAN et al., Biosci., Biotech. Res. Asia, Vol. 13(2), 1113-1119 (2016) 1117

Determination of Water Absorption Capacity and Freeze dried sample. The value of Hot air dried
Rehydration Ratio sample at 50°C was 8.27 ± 0.41 (g/g), which
Water absorption capacity is an index of indicates that at this drying temperature tissue
starch gelatinisation. The WAC value of Hot air damage occurs due to which the watermelon rind
dried sample was higher when compared to that of dried at this temperature could retain a greater

Table 1. Proximate analysis of watermelon rind dried by hot air

drying and freeze drying

Proximate Sample
analysis Fresh FD HAD

Carbohydrate (%) 4.36±0.6b 78.45±0.89a 78.3.1±1.2a

Moisture (%) 91.3±2.3a 3.7±0.56c 4.9±0.11b
Fat (%) 0.09±0.01c 2.9±0.12a 2.63±0.21b
Protein (%) 0.15±0.04c 2.067±0.08a 1.83±0.1b
Ash (%) 3.84±0.19b 12.92±0.11a 12.78±0.17a

*Data are expressed as mean±standard deviation.Data in the same row

bearing different superscripts are statistically different at 5% level of
significance.

Table 2. Density analysis of watermelon rind dried by hot air drying and freeze drying

Sample Bulk Density(g/ml) Tapped Density(g/ml) Hausner Ratio(HR) Carr’s Index(CI)

FD 0.09±0.02b 0.11±0.04b 1.22±0.1b 18.18±0.08b

HAD 0.40±0.12a 0.56±0.01a 1.4±0.02a 28.57±0.02a

*Data are expressed as mean±standard deviation.Data in the same column bearing different superscripts
are statistically different at 5% level of significance(p<0.05)

Table 3. RR, WAC, and solubility of watermelon amount of water than samples dried at higher
rind dried by hot air drying and freeze drying temperatures.
The rehydration ratio and water
Sample RR(g/g) WAC (g/g) Solubility (%) absorption capacity of the freeze dried sample was
found to be greater than the hot air dried sample
FD 7.02±0.8a 11.40±0.6a 5.12±0.5b
which makes freeze dried foods more suitable for
HAD 4.4±0.7b 8.27±0.41b 11.29±0.6a
the production of ready to eat meals. The results
*Data are expressed as mean±standard deviation.Data in obtained were as stated by8.
the same column bearing different superscripts are Water absorption capacity and
statistically different at 5% level of significance (p<0.05). rehydration ratio were found to vary significantly
Table 4. Colour attributes of watermelon rind dried
by hot air 4 Drying and freeze drying

Sample L* a* b* dE WI

Fresh 49.94±0.1c -3.42 ±0.1c 10.69±0.3c 45.05±0.12a 48.69±0.2c

FD 77.22±0.2a -0.38±0.2a 19.8±0.2b 25.1±0.18c 69.8±0.31a
HAD 62.51±0.1b -1.67±0.1b 21.2±0.1a 36.89±0.19b 56.89±0.24b

*Data are expressed as mean±standard deviation.Data in the same row bearing different
superscripts are statistically different at 5% level of significance (p<0.05)
1118 MOHAN et al., Biosci., Biotech. Res. Asia, Vol. 13(2), 1113-1119 (2016)

Table 5. Anti-nutrients in watermelon rind dried by CONCLUSION

hot air drying and freeze drying
Current findings revealed that freeze
Sample Saponins (%) Tannins (%) Alkaloids (%) drying was the preferred method for drying of
watermelon rind. Nutritional properties of the
FRESH 0.34±0.02b 0.12±0.01c 0.62±0.05b
FD 2.03±0.17a 0.43±0.12a 1.42±0.17a watermelon rind are better preserved by freeze
HAD 1.95±0.21a 0.31±0.09b 1.37±0.16a drying in comparison to hot air drying. Freeze
drying resulted in concentration of the nutrients
*Data are expressed as mean±standard deviation.Data in and may be used as a technique for the preservation
the same column bearing different superscripts are and utilisation of watermelon rind.
statistically different at 5% level of significance(p<0.05)

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