What are the nutrients contained in winter melon?

Winter melon (Benincasa hispida Cogn.), the ancient name of Dongguan, pillow melon, water mango, water chi, ground chi, white melon and vegetable plants, etc., belongs to the Cucurbitaceae (Cucurbitaceae) winter melon genus of annual trailing plants. The number of chromosomes is 2n=2x=24. So far, there is only one species of winter melon (Benincasa hispida Cogn.) and one variant of winter melon (Benincasa hispida Cogn. var. chief-qua How.). alias hairy melon. The winter squash has the young or old squash as its main organ of consumption, and in a few areas also its flowers or shoots; the knucklehead squash has the young squash as its main organ of consumption.

Winter melon is rich in nutrients, containing 0.4g of protein, 0.2g of fat, 1.9g of carbohydrates, 0.7g of dietary fiber, 80μg of carotenoids, 18mg of ascorbic acid, 0.2g of ash, and a variety of minerals per 100g of fresh melon; the content of ascorbic acid per 100g of fresh melon of knucklehead melon is up to 39mg (Chinese Academy of Preventive Medical Sciences, "Food Composition Table", 1991). 1991). In addition to 17 common amino acids, winter melon also contains ornithine and Y-aminobutyric acid. The nutrient quality index of winter melon indicates that winter melon is a high quality food. Winter melon can not only be eaten fresh, but also be processed into canned winter melon in sugar water, winter melon beverage, winter melon sauce, low sugar winter melon preserved fruit, low sugar winter melon cui shi, winter melon additives and other deep processing products.

Winter melon also has medicinal and health care value. As early as the Ming Dynasty ("Compendium of Materia Medica", 1578), there is a record: "winter melon, sweet flavor, slightly cold, non-toxic, the main treatment of small abdominal distension, facilitate urination, quench thirst." Winter melon has become a popular health food and beauty products. Winter melon contains low sodium, fat-free, contains a variety of minerals and vitamins, kidney disease, hypertension, edema patients are very beneficial. Winter melon also contains malonic acid, can control the body's sugar into fat, thus avoiding the accumulation of fat, can prevent the human body fat, enhance bodybuilding. The powder of winter melon rind can also be used to treat trauma. Winter melon pulp has anti-malarial, aphrodisiac, diuretic, laxative and tonic functions, and can also be used to treat epilepsy, lung disease, asthma, cough and some neurological disorders and other diseases. Recent studies have shown that winter melon contains anticancer substances terpenoids. Winter melon seeds induce interferon and the oil in winter melon seeds is also a good insect repellent. The extract of winter melon is considered a natural anti-ulcer active substance (Chung Sang-Min. 2003; Grover J. K. 2001; Yoshizumi Satoshi 1998).

Donggua is cultivated throughout China, with more cultivation in the south, where it has been cultivated for more than 2,000 years. At present, the perennial cultivated area is roughly 200,000-250,000 km, and the trend is gradually increasing. Cultivation of melon is mainly concentrated in the southeastern coastal areas of China. Winter melon is heat-loving, heat-resistant, adaptable and easy to cultivate, and is one of the important vegetables in the summer season, which plays an important role in regulating the off-season supply of vegetables. In recent years, due to the transportation is more and more convenient as well as facilities, cultivation, alpine anti-seasonal cultivation and the rapid development of storage technology, the domestic vegetable market winter melon can be completely to do the annual supply. Foreign winter melon production is mainly concentrated in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam and other Southeast Asian regions and India and other places, other temperate to tropical areas are also cultivated in small quantities.

At present, domestic and foreign research on winter melon is mainly focused on medicinal and health care functions, the germplasm resources of winter melon research is less reported. China has a large number of local varieties, and the National Crop Germplasm Resource Bank has collected nearly 300 germplasm resources of winter melon and nearly 70 germplasm resources of knapweed melon.