In vivo anti-inflammatory activity and UPLC-MS/MS profiling of the peels and pulps of Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis and Cucumis melo var. reticulatus.

Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis and Cucumis melo var. reticulatus are the most famous varieties of netted muskmelon or cantaloupe in Egypt. Cantaloupe has a great reputation as an anti-inflammatory drug for hot inflammation of liver, cough, eczema, and kidney disorders such as ulcers in the urinary tract, and our objective was to confirm this use scientifically.Inflammation was induced in adult male Sprague Dawley rats by subcutaneous injection of 0.05 ml of carrageenan (1% solution in saline) into the plantar surface of the right hind paw 30 min after oral pretreatment of the rats with 95% ethanolic extracts of Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis peels (CCP) and pulps (CCU) and Cucumis melo var. reticulatus peels (CRP) and pulps (CRU) at doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg. Indomethacin (10 mg/kg) was used as a standard drug. The effect of the tested samples was measured on the oedema volume, as well as PGE-2, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β levels. Metabolic profiling of the extracts was performed using UPLC-MS/MS analysis.Pretreatment of rats with the ethanol extract of the pulps and peels of the two varieties at doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg significantly inhibited the carrageenan-induced increase in the oedema volume of the rat paws after 3 h, except for the low dose of the French cantaloupe pulp. CRP at 50 mg/kg caused the most significant reductions in both TNF-α (P < 0.05) and IL-1β (P < 0.001) levels, while CCP caused the most significant reductions in PGE-2 and IL-6 (P < 0.05) levels. Increases in PGE-2, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β levels were also significantly prevented by indomethacin (10 mg/kg). UPLC-MS/MS facilitated the identification of 44 phenolic compounds, including phenolic acids and flavonoids.This is the first report of the chemical and biological study of the peels of Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis and Cucumis melo var. reticulatus.