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(a) Kiwano plant with staminate flowers, leaves, and fruit. (b) Color changes in kiwano fruit with the maturity degree. (c) Edible part of kiwano: pulp. (d) Taxonomic classification of kiwano [26]
Source publication
Kiwano (Cucumis metuliferusKiwano E. Meyer ex Naudin) is a neglected crop from the Cucurbitaceae family with recognized nutritional and medicinal properties, especially in African countries. This review describes the recent findings regarding the nutritional and phytochemical composition of kiwano, supporting the pharmacological properties of this...
Contexts in source publication
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... melon, cucumber, kiwano, squash, and pumpkin [5]. Kiwano is the common name of the Cucumis metuliferus E. Meyer ex Naudin species. Other possible designations are African cucumber, African horned cucumber, African horned melon, bitter wild cucumber, horned cucumber, horned melon, jelly melon, spiny cucumber, or blowfish fruit, among others ( Fig. 1) [6,7]. Kiwano is a commercial designation from New Zealand, which exports considerable quantities of kiwi [8]; while the name African horned cucumber is due to its African origin and cucumber appearance with bizarre spines. Despite this designation, it is phylogenetically closer to melon and not to cucumber [9]. This climbing plant ...
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... is taxonomically classified within Embryophytes; class Magnoliopsida; order Violales/Curcubitales; family Cucurbitaceae, genus Cucumis, and species Cucumis metuliferus E. Meyer ex Naudin (Fig. 1d) [26]. This plant grows in several types of habitats (semievergreen forest, woodland, wooded grassland, and grassland), from 210 to 1800 m above sea level, and it also occurs in abandoned cultivated areas. Indeed, it tolerates a wide range of soil types with a preference for welldrained sandy or loam soils, typically in alluvial soils, ...
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... the botanical point of view, kiwano is an annual climbing plant, sometimes a creeper with trailing stems (Fig. 1a). The root system is strong and fibrous. Stems are long (up to 5 m in length), radiating from a woody rootstock and are hispid with long spreading hairs. Tendrils are 4-10.5 cm long, slender, solitary, glabrate to hispid, and located in axils of leaves. Leaves are alternate, simple, ovate-cordate, sometimes heart-shaped; the leaf-lamina ...
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... they have deep green color but yellow to orange-red when ripen, with longitudinal bands of pale markings, and are placed on a peduncle with 20-70 mm long. Seeds (5-9 mm long) are white, edible, ellipsoid, flattened, and there are hundreds per fruit; they are embedded in a light green, emerald-green or translucent mucilaginous (jelly-like) flesh (Figs. 1c, d). Seed germination usually occurs within 3-8 days at optimum temperatures (20-35 °C) and is completely abolished below 8 °C. The flowering season starts around 8 weeks after seeding, with male flowers appearing several days before female ones. Under field conditions, harvest occurs 3.5 months after sowing [6,7,15,16]. The flowering and ...
Citations
This study aimed the optimization of antioxidant activity, total phenolic compounds (TPC) and total carotenoids of Horned Melon fruit submitted to maceration extraction, using ethanol as solvent. Optimization was performed by Box–Behnken design on three levels and three variables: extraction temperature (25 °C, 55 °C, and 85 °C), extraction time (0.5, 2.0, and 3.5 h) and ethanol concentration (10%, 50%, and 90%). The optimal conditions to improve the carotenoids extraction was 55 °C, 1.5 h and 86% ethanol, whereas the antiradical/antioxidant activity (ABTS and FRAP assays) and TPC were enhanced at 45 °C for 2.0 h and 40% ethanol. The optimal antioxidant extract was characterized regarding the phenolic composition and in vitro neuroprotective activities. The phenolic composition revealed the presence of high amounts of gallic acid (11.7 ± 0.6 mg/100 g dw) and protocatechuic acid (7.69 ± 0.38 mg/100 g dw). However, this extract presented a weak activity against Monoamine oxidase A (11.8 ± 2.3% inhibition at 2.7 mg/mL) and did not display anti-cholinesterase activity at the maximum concentration tested (1.3 mg/mL). Maceration was an efficient extraction technique to recover polyphenols and carotenoids from Horned Melon fruit. The optimized model can be very useful for food and pharmaceutical industries.
Recent studies reveal that numerous non-edible parts of fruits and vegetables, as well as food wastes, are a good source of phytochemicals that can be extracted and reintroduced into the food chain as natural food additives. Horned melon or kiwano (Cucumis metuliferus E. Mey. Ex. Naudin) is a fruit rich in various phytochemical components important in the daily diet. After primary processing, horned melon non-edible parts (e.g., peels and seeds) can represent raw materials that can be utilized in numerous applications. Among under-researched fruits, this study aims to present the potential of using horned melon edible and non-edible parts based on current knowledge on nutritional value, phytochemicals, biological activity, as well as biological benefits. Overall, this review concluded that the biological properties of horned melon are associated with the phytochemicals present in this fruit and its waste parts. Further studies should be conducted to identify phytochemicals and valorize all horned melon parts, assess their biological efficacy, and promote their potential uses in different health purposes.
