Nutritive value of a melon seed beverage

A beverage from melon seeds was produced to make a waste product available for human consumption. Energy, moisture, fat, protein, ash, iron, magnesium and vitamin C analyses were conducted to determine the nutritional value of the beverage, following a consumer panel test to evaluate its acceptability. The beverage had an energy value of 67 kcal/100 g. The moisture, fat, protein, ash and carbohydrate values were found to be 86·36, 1·92, 1·28, 0·27 and 10·17%, respectively. The Indices of Nutritional Quality (INQ) calculated for protein, iron and magnesium indicated that the beverage was a good source of iron and magnesium and a fair source of protein. The magnesium, iron and vitamin C contents of the beverage were found to be 22·23, 0·90 and 0·31 mg100 g, respectively, and no arsenic could be detected. The consumer panel test results showed that the beverage was liked very much (4·9 on a 5-point hedonic scale).