Review on Phytochemicals and Medicinal Properties of Watermelon Seed

1.1 Introduction

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieties. The watermelon seeds are known to have economic benefits especially in countries where cultivation is on the increase. They are used to prepare snacks, milled into flour and used for sauces. Oil from the seeds are used in cooking and incorporated into the production of cosmetics (Jensen et al., 2011).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitation of the study and Definition of technical terms.