Determination of L-Citrulline Content in the Mesocarp of the Verde, Pintón and Maduro Fruit of Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) in Pucallpa

In the Peruvian Amazon there is an herbaceous plant of tropical climate called watermelon Citrullus lanatus, whose fruit contains an important amino acid called citrulline, the same that is concentrated in the mesocarp and could very well be used by the population in an artisanal or industrial way. The objective of this research was to determine the content of this amino acid in watermelon fruits at different stages of maturation, from the district of Nueva Requena, province of Coronel Portillo, Ucayali region. For the analysis carried out in the research work was used a minimum of 100 g. sample of mesocarp of Verde fruit, pinto and maduro, analysis performed in the laboratories of the National University of San Antonio de Abad del Cuzco, by liquid chromatography of high efficiency. An Agilent 1200 series chromatograph was used with a Zorbax Eclipse AAA Rapid Resolution 4.6 × 75 mm, 3.5um column; column flow 2 ml/min, temperature 35 °C; solvent A (Buffer NaH2PO4 at pH 7.8) and solvent B (acetonitrile, methanol, water); the detection by diode trawling was done at 262 and 338 nm. In the results it is observed that the mesocarp of the maduro fruit has a significant difference between treatments, and it is appreciated with a higher content of the amino acid in the maduro mesocarp, which means that the ripening state of watermelon influences in the content of citrulline.