Introduction: Ingesting some foods can trigger headache attacks in migraine patients. Diet-sourced citrulline activates the <sc>l</sc>-arginine-nitric oxide pathway, acting on the pathophysiology of migraine.
Methods: The study was a clinical trial, interventional, controlled, and with group comparison. The sample was non-random, composed of 38 volunteers with migraine and 38 without headache (control). Both groups ingested a portion of watermelon to determine the onset of headache attacks. Before and after ingesting watermelon, they underwent blood collections to determine serum nitrite levels.
Results: There were 38 volunteers diagnosed with migraine without aura and 38 controls, whose mean age was, respectively, 22.4 ± 1.5 and 22.9 ± 3.1 years (p = 0.791). Headache was triggered by watermelon ingestion after 124.3 ± 20.5 min of ingestion in 23.7% (9/38) of the migraine volunteers and in none of the controls (p = 0.002). There was an increase in serum nitrite levels, both in migraine volunteers (23.4%) and in the control group (24.3%), after watermelon ingestion. This difference was significant (p < 0.001).
Discussion: Watermelon ingestion triggered headache attacks in migraine patients and increased serum nitrite levels, attesting to a possible activation of the <sc>l</sc>-arginine-nitric oxide pathway.
Keywords: Arginine; Citruline; Migraine; Nitric oxide; Watermelon.
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