PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF OIL EXTRACTED FROM SEEDS OF MELON VARIETIES LOCAL (KHOREZM REGION): REVIEW OF SYSTEMATIZED LITERATURE

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) Melons are one of the most widely grown melons in Uzbekistan, and its seeds are a valuable secondary raw material that has not yet been sufficiently processed. The purpose of this systematized literature review is to analyze the existing scientific publications on the chemical composition, physicochemical indicators and bioactive components of oil obtained from melon seeds and to identify the existing knowledge gap on the varieties of Urgenchi, Zar gulobi, Ola gurvak, Ola zamcha and Yellow zamcha varieties common in the Khorezm region. A systematic analysis of relevant publications in selected scientific databases was carried out (the search strategy is presented in the section "Materials and methods"). According to the results of the analysis, linoleic acid (in the range of 51–69% in various studies) predominates as the main fatty acid in melon seed oil, followed by oleic acid; The fat contains around 435–828 mg/kg of tocopherols (mainly γ-tocopherols) and a significant amount of phytosterols (mainly β-sitosterols). At the same time, the analysis revealed that there were no separate published scientific data on the five local Khorezm varieties of seed oil, which is proposed as a clear direction for further experimental research. The results confirm that melon seed oil is a promising raw material for use in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetology industries.