Watermelon juice has been found to reduce the recovery heart rate and muscle soreness in athletes.
Citrulline, an amino acid found in watermelon, is an excellent candidate to reduce muscle soreness. This study investigated the potential of watermelon juice as a functional drink for athletes, and found that both natural watermelon juice and watermelon juice with added L-citrulline helped to reduce athletes’ recovery heart rate and muscle soreness after 24 hours.