β‐Carotene content of novel orange‐fleshed honey dew ‘Orange Dew’ melons

Abstract

'Orange Dew' (OD) melon is a cross between orange‐fleshed cantaloupe (CAN) and green‐fleshed honey dew fruits. CAN has a rough, netted peel while honey dew has a smooth peel. OD fruit have both orange flesh like CAN and a smooth peel like honey dew. The smooth peel facilitates surface cleansing of microbes, and the orange flesh is an indicator of the presence the β‐carotene. We compared the β‐carotene content of OD and a CAN grown under the same glasshouse conditions. All melon plants were grown in well fertilized soil. Fruits at harvest were puréed and frozen (‐80 oC) until analysis. Percent dry weights were obtained, and β‐carotene concentrations were determined by HPLC. In vitro digestion was performed to determine percent digestive stability and percent micellerization of β‐carotene. The micelles were then applied to Caco‐2 cells to determine percent cell uptake (absorption). The average β‐carotene concentrations (µg/g dry weight) for the OD and CAN were 243 and 176, respectively. The average dry weight per gram of wet weight of OD and CAN was 0.09g and 0.07g respectively. Both mean β‐carotene content and dry weight of the OD were significantly greater than that of CAN (p‐values<.001). There were no differences in digestive stability, micellerization, or extent of cell uptake between the two fruits. However, the OD melons are both safer and contain more β‐carotene than CAN. Supported by USDA & NIH‐HL049879.