August 26, 2002

Besides being fun to eat, watermelon is good for you. It’s a delicious source of lycopene--a health-promoting phytonutrient.

Now, ARS researchers from Lane, Oklahoma, and Beltsville, Maryland, are looking into the influence
of watermelon genetics on lycopene content. Each of the 13 kinds of watermelon that the researchers analyzed had as much or more lycopene as fresh tomatoes, which are considered a good source (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2001, vol. 81, no. 10, pp. 983-987).

A related study with 23 volunteers--healthy men and women age 36 to 69--showed that our bodies can readily take up and use lycopene from watermelon. The experiment, in which volunteers drank either tomato or watermelon juice as part of a 19-week research regimen, is likely the first to pinpoint the bioavailability of watermelon’s lycopene.

Lycopene, also found in guava, red and pink grapefruit, and tomatoes is an antioxidant that is thought to help protect against cancer and heart disease.

For further information, contact Penelope M. Perkins-Veazie, (580) 889-7395, USDA-ARS South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory, Lane, OK or Beverly A. Clevidence, (301) 504-8396, USDA-ARS Phytonutrients Laboratory, Beltsville, MD