Ripening-associated pectin disassembly in melon is characterized by a decrease in molecular mass and an increase in the solubilization of polyuronide, modifications that in other fruit have been attributed to the activity of polygalacturonase (PG). Although it has been reported that PG activity is absent during melon fruit ripening, a mechanism for PG-independent pectin disassembly has not been...

Momordica charantia (bitter melon) is commonly known as vegetable insulin, but the mechanisms underlying its hypoglycemic effect remain unclear. To address this issue, the effects of bitter melon extracts on postprandial glycemic responses have been investigated in rats. An aqueous extract (AE), methanol fraction (MF) and methanol insoluble fraction (MIF) were prepared from bitter melon. An ora...

The SBP-box gene family is specific to plants and encodes a class of zinc finger-containing transcription factors with a broad range of functions. Although SBP-box genes have been identified in numerous plants, including green algae, moss, silver birch, snapdragon, Arabidopsis, rice, and maize, there is little information concerning SBP-box genes, or the corresponding miR156/157, function in me...

During the summer of 2018, there was high incidence fruit rots cantaloupe melons (Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis) in Murcia province, south-eastern Spain. The fruits showed development whitish mycelium and pulp softening. Morphological molecular analysis internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-? (TEF1-?) second largest subunit RNA polymerase (RPB2) genes confirmed Fu...

To investigate radical scavenging effects and protective activities of bitter melon (Momordica charantia) against oxidative stress, in vitro and a cellular system using LLC-PK1 renal epithelial cells were used in this study. The butanol (BuOH) fraction of bitter melon scavenged 63.4% and 87.1% of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals at concentrations of 250 and 500 μg/mL, respectively....

Among the fundamental questions regarding cultivated plants is their geographic origin and region of domestication. The genus Cucumis, which includes cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and melon (Cucumis melo), has numerous wild African species, and it has therefore been assumed that melon originated in Africa. For cucumber, this seemed less likely because wild cucumbers exist in India and a closely re...

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is one of the most important crops grown in world, but it can be attacked by more than 30 different pathogens. The areal Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid., sunflower pathogens nowadays often found temperate regions, has been spreading over last few years due to climate change. effective eco-friendly method for controlling charcoal rot caused M. growing resis...