Nutritional Composition of Boiled and Unboiled Watermelon: A Comparative Study

Background and Objective: Watermelon is consumed in various forms in Nigeria. It is either eaten raw or boiled as vegetables in foods. In Nigeria, only the fresh fruits of watermelon are consumed while the seeds are discarded. This study is aimed at ascertaining the effects of boiling on the nutritional profile of watermelon. Materials and Methods: Raw and cooked watermelon were used for this research work. Proximate, mineral and phytochemical screening of the raw and cooked watermelon were carried out and compared statistically. Data collected were subjected to One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the treatment means were separated using Fisher’s least significant difference at p = 0.05. Results: Proximate analysis results of the boiled and unboiled watermelon studied showed that the highest carbohydrate content was in the boiled watermelon (43.30±0.028) while the least carbohydrate content was found in the unboiled watermelon (30.58±.0.024). The highest protein content was found in the boiled watermelon (8.82±0.025) and the least was found in the unboiled watermelon (3.28±0.017). Ether extract (fat) was highest in the boiled watermelon (3.38±0.030) and lowest in the unboiled watermelon (1.36±0.028). Highest crude fiber content was found in the boiled watermelon (30.25±0.028) and the lowest crude fiber content was seen in the unboiled watermelon (10.10±0.011). Also, the unboiled watermelon had the highest moisture content (20.14±0.003) and the least moisture content was found in the boiled watermelon (9.89±0.028). Conclusion: Thus, it can be concluded that nutrients found in the fruits are in variable concentrations. Therefore, their consumption of unboiled watermelon is recommended for normal body function.