Comparative Evaluation of Manually and Mechanically Shelled Egusi Melon Seeds ( Colocynthis Citrullus L. )

Egusi melon, Colocynthis citrullus lanatus was manually and mechanically shelled respectively at different machine speeds of 700 and 860 rpm respectively. Proximate and mineral analysis determined respectively using standard analytical procedures. The result of the analysis showed that moisture content ranged between 5.32% and 5.61%, ash content between 3.45% and 3.98%, crude fibre between 5.61% and 5.99%, crude fat between 48.97% and 49.96%, crude protein between 25.05% and 25.82%, estimated carbohydrate between 10.00% and10.40%, p H was between 7.1 and 7.2, acid value between 1.68 and 1.86, iodine value between 21.38 and 21.63, Na + levels between 3.22 and 3.51, Mg 2+ between 34.15 and 36.30, Ca 2+ between 28.40 and 28.90, K + levels between 47.80 and 49.10 mg/100g for the shelled and respectively. These results showed that proteins and minerals were lost when shelling Egusi melon seeds.