Experts agree: Here’s what nutritionists say about eating seedless watermelons

Social media was promoted as a way to connect people, help spread knowledge for the betterment of humankind and the planet. Unfortunately, no one wants to have to pay, preferring to deal with ads instead which has led to the companies that control those platforms seeking to monetize content, users, their clicks to the fullest extent possible.

Thus, we get scary sounding social media posts that are designed to take advantage of the algorithms to go viral, like health influencers claiming that seedless watermelons are not safe because they are made using colchicine, which among other things is used to treat gout.

What is colchicine?

“Colchicine is a naturally occurring alkaloid compound found in certain plant species, primarily the Colchicum autumnale plant, also known as autumn crocus or meadow saffron,” states Texas A&M AgriLife Organic.

For centuries colchicine has been used in traditional medicine, especially to treat inflammatory conditions like gout. However, people that use it should only do so under medical supervision, as high doses can be toxic and lethal.

As with any good lie to scare your pants off, the story of seedless watermelon does have a grain of truth in that it does involve colchicine. But, the seedless watermelons you see in the supermarket have been nowhere near the substance.

Fun fact, if the colchicine used on its great-great-great-(keep going for a few minutes)-grandparent was derived from a natural source and not synthetic, all things considered that delicious-looking seedless watermelon can be honestly labeled ‘organic’ as the process doesn’t involve genetic modification.

How seedless watermelons are made

There are a wide variety of seedless fruits that people consume every day, look no further than the bananas you have sitting on your countertop, or perhaps some seedless grapes in the fridge. Seedless fruits are the result of natural mutations and selective breeding, which are then propagated using careful agricultural techniques.

As for seedless watermelon, first you must know that normal watermelon, like humans, are diploids, i.e. they have two sets of chromosomes. However, it was discovered back in 1939 by a Japanese plant scientist that treating the ends of the young vines with colchicine made the plant produce melons with four sets of chromosomes, making it a tetraploid.

Then when you mate the diploid and tetraploid watermelon plants, you get a triploid “mule” watermelon, i.e. the offspring has three sets of chromosomes and is sterile like a mule. However, the process requires several generations, and at least a decade, of targeted breeding to establish stable lines, and the only time colchicine was used was to make the very first tetraploid and has nothing to do with future breeding.

So you can dig into a delicious, refreshing, seedless watermelon this summer completely free of any guilt or worries. Enjoy!

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