LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - A slice of cool, fresh watermelon is a
juicy way to top off a 4th of July cookout.
It's also a way that researchers say could keep fireworks going
into the night.
Watermelons contain an ingredient called citrulline that can trigger production of a compound that
helps relax the body's blood vessels.
It's similar to what happens when a man takes Viagra.
Details come from Texas A&M scientists in one of the nation's
top producers of seedless watermelons.
Citrulline is in the flesh and rind of watermelons. It reacts
with the body's enzymes when consumed and is changed into an amino
acid that benefits the heart, and the circulatory and immune
systems.
But one would need to eat about six cups of watermelon to get
enough citrulline to boost the body's level of that particular
amino acid -- arginine.