Cantaloupe and honeydew melon cultivars were processed and stored under a high oxygen passive modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) or reduced oxygen controlled atmosphere (CA; 5 kPa O2 + 10 kPa CO2 and balance N2) for 14 days at 5 C. Atmosphere did not affect softening rate or soluble solids content and had a negligible effect on colour. Volatile compounds known as flavour-important in melons we...

Currently approved irradiation quarantine treatment doses for Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillet), melon fly; Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), Mediterranean fruit fly; and Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), oriental fruit fly, infesting fruits and vegetables for export from Hawaii to the continental United States are 210, 225, and 250 Gy, respectively. Irradiation studies were initiated to determine wh...

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is useful as a potential therapeutic agent for hepatic and renal fibrosis and cardiovascular diseases through inducing proliferation of epithelial and endothelial cells. HGF inducers may also be useful as therapeutic agents for these diseases. However, there have been no reports on induction of HGF production by plant extracts or juices. An extract of bitter melon...

The phloem's role as a tissue responsible for the distribution of photoassimilates and nutrients among the various organs of higher plants has long been recognized. Recent studies have established that numerous proteins and mRNA molecules are also present in the phloem translocation stream; however, limited information is available on the identity of transcripts present within the phloem sap. I...

The calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) is a ser/thr protein kinase that plays vital roles in plant growth, development, and responses to multiple stresses. Despite an important member of the stress responsive gene family, little is known about the evolutionary history and expression patterns of CDPK genes in melon. Herein, a total of 18 CDPK genes and 7 CDPK-related protein kinases (CRK) g...

The unique aroma of melons (Cucumis melo L., Cucurbitaceae) is composed of many volatile compounds biosynthetically derived from fatty acids, carotenoids, amino acids, and terpenes. Although amino acids are known precursors of aroma compounds in the plant kingdom, the initial steps in the catabolism of amino acids into aroma volatiles have received little attention. Incubation of melon fruit cu...

BACKGROUND The oriental melon (Cucumis melo L. var. makuwa) is one of the most important cultivated cucurbits grown widely in Korea, Japan, and northern China. It is cultivated because its fruit has a sweet aromatic flavor and is rich in soluble sugars, organic acids, minerals, and vitamins. In order to elucidate the genetic and molecular basis of the developmental changes that determine size, ...

The aim of this study was to identify particular properties of foods that can affect satiety. Two levels (50 and 200 kcal) of three preloads (tomato soup, melon, cheese on crackers) were given just before two different second courses (macaroni and beef casserole, grilled cheese sandwiches), allowing us to examine the effects of caloric level, energy density, and sensory-specific satiety on food...

Bitter melon fruit is recommended in ancient Indian and Chinese medicine for prevention/treatment of diabetes. However its effects on cancer progression are not well understood. Here, we have determined the efficacy of methanolic extracts of bitter melon on colon cancer stem and progenitor cells. Both, whole fruit (BMW) and skin (BMSk) extracts showed significant inhibition of cell proliferatio...

the melon aphid, aphis gossypii glover (hemiptera: aphididae), is one of the most important pests of agricultural products in iran. in this study, susceptibility of melon aphid that collected from seven regions (yazd, varamin, mohammadshahr, esfehan, karaj, hashtgerd and ramsar) was compared to pirimicarb and malathion after 24 hours in 2009. bioassay experiments on adults were carried out by u...