Watermelon rind and beet peel could support healthy blood vessels
Alvares TS
Food Waste Valorization
The watermelon rind you toss in the compost bin after a backyard barbecue contains L-citrulline, a compound your own body can convert into a blood-vessel-relaxing molecule.
When you process beets and watermelons, you're left with peels, pomace, and rind that usually get thrown out or composted. Watermelon rind holds a compound called L-citrulline that your body can turn into nitric oxide, a molecule that helps blood vessels open up and work better. Beet peels have colorful pigments and fiber too, but scientists haven't yet proven they deliver the same nitrate boost as regular beet juice, so that connection is still more of an educated guess.
Key Findings
Watermelon rind-derived L-citrulline is confirmed bioavailable in humans, and a microencapsulated rind juice providing 4 g of L-citrulline improved conduit artery endothelial function in clinical studies.
Beetroot by-products (peels, pomace) contain betalains, phenolics, and fiber, but nitrate content in these specific materials is rarely measured, leaving their nitric-oxide benefit unproven and inferred from conventional beetroot products.
The review calls for future studies to quantify nitrate in beet by-products and citrulline in watermelon rind, paired with clinical measurement of blood nitrate/nitrite/amino acids and vascular function.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scraps from beets and watermelon, like peels and rind, could become functional food ingredients that support heart health by boosting nitric oxide, a molecule that helps blood vessels relax. The evidence is much stronger for watermelon rind's citrulline than for beet peel's nitrate content.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Valorization of Beetroot and Watermelon by-Products as Functional Ingredients Targeting Nitric Oxide Pathways: Implications for Cardiovascular Health.
Food loss and waste represent major challenges for food systems, while fruit and vegetable by-products generated during processing are underused sources of bioactive compounds with potential applic...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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The watermelon is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is widely cultivated worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieties.