Watermelon seed oil is extracted by pressing from the seeds of the '' Citrullus lanatus ''(watermelon). It is particularly common in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

, where it is also called ''ootanga oil''. The common watermelon most likely originated almost 5,000 years ago in the

Kalahari Desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal d ...

. Its wild ancestor, the Kalahari Melon, still grows there, and its seeds are pressed for their oil. Watermelons migrated north through Egypt, and during the Roman era they were cultivated and prized. Like their wild ancestors, modern domestic watermelon seeds can be pressed for oil. Traditionally, the seeds are extracted from the seed casing, and dried in the sun. Once dried, the seeds are pressed. Watermelon seed oil contains high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids, primarily linoleic and

oleic acid Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omeg ...

File:Male and female watermelon 1458.JPG, Male (top) and female (bottom) watermelon flowers in side view File:Hanblommavattenmelon.JPG, Male watermelon flower File:Honblommavattenmelon.JPG, Female watermelon flower File:Citrullus lanatus5SHSU.jpg, Fruit File:Citrullus lanatus ies.jpg, Seeds

References

{{fatsandoils Watermelons Vegetable oils Melon production

See also

References