Abstract:

This study aimed to determine whether heat treatment can better improve the storage quality of Hami melon. The
nature of heat treatment was revealed by studying sucrose accumulation and respiratory metabolism. This study investigated
effects of heat treatment on respiratory metabolic network flux of Hami melon. Hami melon was stored at different
temperatures (45, 50 and 55 ℃) for three hours and then at 5 ℃ for 21 hours using storage at 5 ℃ for 24 hours as control
in order to obtain the metabolic flux of embden meyerhof pathway (EMP), tricarboxylicacid (TCA) cycle, sucrose synthesis
pathway (SSP) and pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) of different fruit locations of Hami melon at different temperatures.
The results showed higher sugar and lactic acid flux in 45 and 50 ℃ groups and the highest values in 45 ℃ treatment group,
representing the most appropriate heat treatment. However, only slight difference existed between 55 ℃ treatment and
control groups. These findings can provide references for in-depth study on heat treatment from a metabolic perspective and
for improving the storage quality of fruits.

Key words: Hami melon, heat treatment, sugar, lactate, metabolic flux