A recent review on traditional use, phytochemical components, pharmacological activity of Citrullus lanatus (Thunb) Matsum. & Nakai (Cucurbitaceae) and its uses in the food industry

Abstract

Citrullus lanatus is a recognized and cultivated worldwide species due to its ethnomedicinal uses and nutritional importance, including its application in food industry. Therefore, this review aims to compile and discuss recent information on these themes, so that 43 documents were selected from 2017 to 2024. C. lanatus is traditionally used to treat different health conditions, so that steroids and alkanes have been related to its in vivo antiurolytic and diuretic activities, and L-citrulline is effective in treating cardiovascular diseases and presents beneficial effects on metabolic diseases. The industrial application of C. lanatus as a natural sweetener revealed a very high acceptance, which includes the use of the pectin and melanin extracted from its peels as quality edible biofilms. The recent studies on C. lanatus demonstrate continued promising discoveries for its use, which can optimize the rational use of waste and provide new applications in the health context and food industry use.