Abstract: The effects of transportation on different grades of roads on the antioxidant system of Hami melon are different. The transportation vibration environment of a semi-trailer on expressway, arterial road (AR), secondary roads (SR), and tertiary roads (TR) were simulated in this experiment. The respiration rate, decay index, total phenolics content, VC content, ascorbate peroxidase (APX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) capacity and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity of different road vibration treatments and control treatment without vibration during storage at room temperature (23 ℃) for 28 days were compared. The results showed that the total phenolics and VC contents, APX, SOD, CAT and POD activities, FRAP and DPPH radical scavenging capacity of Hami melon under different grades of road vibration were lower than those of the control group at day 28 of storage, and SR and TR caused significantly higher respiration rate and greater damage to the antioxidant system of Hami melon than expressway and AR (P < 0.05), which indicated that vibration can increase respiration rate and reduce the activity of various enzymes and antioxidants in the antioxidant protection system during the storage of cantaloupe, accelerating cell membrane lipid oxidation, destroying the integrity of the cell membrane, and finally accelerating the senescence and spoilage of melons. The effect of transportation vibration on SR and TR was more obvious.

Key words: Hami melons, transportation vibration, antioxidase, ferric reducing antioxidant power, DPPH radical scavenging activity