3.6. Lycopene and b-carotene contents
The lycopene content of watermelons is higher than that of
many other fruits and vegetables (Bramley, 2000; Tadmor et al.,
2005); the lycopene concentration of watermelons is 23.0e
72.0 mg/g wet weight, which is higher than that of tomato (8.8e
42.0 mg/g) (Bramley, 2000). As shown in Table 4, the lycopene and
b-carotene contents of untreated watermelon flesh were 60.68 and
4.82 mg/g, respectively, and negligible quantities were detected in
white and green rinds (data not shown). As the treatment temperature
and time increased, the lycopene content in the extracts
decreased. Lycopene and b-carotene were not observed in the extracts
of watermelon flesh treated at 250 C and 150 C for 30 min.