Chen Chen, Lanruoyan Xu, Wenhao Xia, Chenze Qi, Jiexia Liu, Bing Hua, Zhiping Zhang, Xiaohua Qi, Minmin Miao
Atlantic giant (AG, Cucurbita maxima ) is a type of giant pumpkin in the Cucurbitaceae family and has the world's largest fruit. AG possesses excellent ornamental and economic value due to its well-known large fruit. However, giant pumpkins are usually thrown away after viewing, thus generating a waste of resources. To explore the additional value of giant pumpkins, a metabolome assay was performed between AG and Hubbard (a small fruit pumpkin) fruits. We found that bioactive compounds, especially flavonoids (including 8-prenylnaringenin, tetrahydrocurcumin, galangin, and acacetin) and coumarins (including coumarin, umbelliferone, 4-coumaryl alcohol, and coumaryl acetate), with extensive antioxidant and pharmacological functions, showed higher accumulation in AG fruit than in Hubbard fruits...
July 3, 2023: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry