In 2007 to 2008, a fruit rot of Melon (Cucumis melo L.) caused by Sclerotium rolfsii occurred sporadically in a farmer's vinyl house in Jinju City. The symptoms started with watersoaking lesion and progressed into the rotting of the surface of fruit. White mycelial mats appeared on the lesion at the surface of the fruit and a number of sclerotia formed on the fruit near the soil line. The sclerotia were globoid in shape, 1~3 mm in size, and white to brown in color. The hyphal width was measured 3 to 8 microm. The optimum temperature for mycelial growth and sclerotia formation was 30 on PDA. Typical clamp connections were observed in hyphae of grown for 4 days on PDA. On the basis of symptoms, mycological characteristics and pathogenicity to the host plant, this fungus was identified as Sclerotium rolfsii Saccardo. This is the first report of the fruit rot of Melon caused by S. rolfsii in Korea.
Allyl Compounds ; Cucumis melo ; Cucurbitaceae ; Fruit ; Fungi ; Humans ; Hyphae ; Korea ; Plants ; Soil ; Sulfides

Powdery mildew is one of the most devastating diseases in cucurbits. Crop yield can decline as the disease severity increases. In this study, we evaluated the effect of silver nanoparticles against powdery mildew under different cultivation conditions in vitro and in vivo . Silver nanoparticles (WA-CV-WA13B) at various concentrations were applied before and after disease outbreak in plants to determine antifungal activities. In the field tests, the application of 100 ppm silver nanoparticles showed the highest inhibition rate for both before and after the outbreak of disease on cucumbers and pumpkins. Also, the application of 100 ppm silver nanoparticles showed maximum inhibition for the growth of fungal hyphae and conidial germination in in vivo tests. Scanning electron microscope results indicated that the silver nanoparticles caused detrimental effects on both mycelial growth and conidial germination.
Cucumis sativus ; Cucurbita ; Disease Outbreaks ; Electrons ; Germination ; Hyphae ; Nanoparticles ; Silver

Rhizopus oryzae is reported for the first time on Cucumis melo L. var. makuwa Makino. A detailed description of this Korean specimen is given, along with its rDNA internal transcribed spacer sequence. On the basis of mycological characteristics and molecular data, the fungus was identified as R. oryzae Went & Prinsen Geerligs.
Cucumis ; Cucumis melo ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Fungi ; Oryza ; Rhizopus

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Zehneria japonica belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family which is one of the most important plant families. It is commonly known as "Pipinong-gubat," widely distributed in Central Luzon regions and in areas along streams and clearings at low and medium altitudes in the Philippines. This study aimed to evaluate the potential cytotoxic and angiosuppressive properties of Zehneria japonica (Thunb. ex Murray) S.K. Chen (Cucurbitaceae) leaf extracts.

METHODOLOGY: The Z japonica semi-crude extracts were obtained by sequential extraction using hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol. A modified duck egg chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay was aided by AngioQuant, a digital imaging software used to evaluate angiogenic activity. Inhibition of angiogenesis was evaluated by percent increase or decrease in mean length of blood vessels, mean size of blood vessels, and total number of blood vessel junctions. Moreover, the cytotoxic effects of the extracts were determined through MTT Assay. Osteosarcoma (U20s) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells were used as cancer representatives while human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were used as the normal cell control.

RESULTS: Analysis with AngioQuant revealed that treatment of the duck egg CAM with Z. japonica semi-crude extracts suppressed angiogenesis with ICso values of 1,810.00 ug/mL, 192.50 ug/ml, and 147.70 ug/mL for hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol, respectively, with Celecoxib (20 ug/mL) as the positive control. For MTT assay, Z. japonica extracts exhibited strong cytotoxic effect against U2Os with an ICso values of 19.65 ug/mL, 9.89 ug/ml, and 31.04 ve/mL for the hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol extracts, and no cytotoxic effects against HepG2 with IC50 values of 770.90 ug/mL, 130.10 ug/mL and 231.60 ug/mL for the hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol extracts. Doxorubicin (0.544 ug/mL) was used as the positive control. The extracts also inhibited the growth of the normal cells, with IC50 values of 69.46 ng/mL, 42.23 ug/mL and 63.44 ug/mL for the hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol extracts. There were no mortality and toxic symptoms observed for 14 days after the administration of the crude butanolic extract of Z. japonica in six female Sprague Dawley rats.

CONCLUSION: Z. japonica crude leaf extracts exhibited angio-suppressive activity through CAM assay. In MTT assay, the extracts exhibited strong cytotoxicity in U20s (IC50 S20 ug/mL), no cytotoxic effect in HepG2 (ICso >100 ug/mL) cells, and mild cytotoxic effect in HUVEC (IC50 40-60 ug/mL). Phytochemical screening through TLC revealed that the extracts contain alkaloids, anthrones, flavonoids, and sterols. 

The contents of polyphenol and flavonoid from leaves and fruits of tree Momordica charantia are higher than other medicinal plants. These components are very soluble in low acid medium and ethanol. In growth processing of tree Monordica charantia, the content of polyphenol and flavonoid increase in fruits and leaves, and after then it decrease little
Flavonoids ; polyphenols ; Momordica charantia

Background: Amoebiasis is a global health problem affecting poor regions in the world. Few drugs such as metronidazole are available to treat this disease; unfortunately, it is associated with several serious side effects. Tsaang gubat and ampalaya have been used by traditional healers from different cultures to treat dysentery. Objective: The aim of this research was to provide evidence to validate the use of tsaang gubat and ampalaya leaf extracts for dysentery by determining their anti-amoebic activity. Methods: The tsaang gubat and ampalaya leaves were sourced from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños and processed into a lyophilized aqueous extract. Anti-amoebic activity was determined in an in vitro assay using Entamoeba histolytica HK-9 strain against 10 dose levels (18-10,000 μg/mL). The amoeba and leaf extracts were incubated for 24, 48, and 72 hours. The trophozoites were stained with Trypan blue and dispensed into chambers of a Neubauer hemocytometer. The live trophozoites (unstained) were counted under a binocular microscope. The MIC and IC50 were determined. Metronidazole and DMSO served as positive and negative controls, respectively. Results: Tsaang gubat and ampalaya leaves failed to show anti-amoebic activity and even had increased growth of amoeba at all dose levels. The IC50 of tsaang gubat and ampalaya leaf extracts were >500 μg/mL at 24, 48, and 72 hours. Metronidazole was able to eradicate the amoeba parasite at 24 and 72 hours, while exposure to DMSO did not result in inhibition nor death of the parasite. Conclusion Tsaang gubat and ampalaya aqueous leaf extracts did not exhibit any anti-amoeba activity.
Momordica charantia ; Antiparasitic Agents

Objectives: The increasing use of the Internet as a source of health information makes the accuracy of such information crucial. An example is the use of the widely advertised bitter melon (Momordica charantia) in treating diabetes despite its unproven efficacy. This study aims to assess the accuracy of websites containing information on bitter melon’s role in diabetes, to search for the presence of the proposed quality indicators, and to determine their correlation with accuracy. Methodology: An Internet search was used to generate a list of websites. The accuracy of each website was determined by comparing its content with that of a tool that was developed from authoritative sources. The presence of the proposed quality indicators, taken from published guidelines, was then correlated with accuracy. Results: Of the 158 websites identified, 10 (6.33%) were characterized as “most accurate” and 21 (13.3%) as “somewhat accurate.” The identified indicators of accuracy were the HONcode logo (OR 12.1, p=0.011); the author, identified as a healthcare professional (OR = 6.11, p = 0.008); and a citation from a peer-reviewed medical literature (OR 2.92, p = 0.029). Conclusion These findings suggest that most of the Internet-based information on bitter melon’s role in diabetes is inaccurate. The public can use several indicators of accurate information on the use of bitter melon in diabetes to improve health care.
Internet ; Momordica charantia

BACKGROUND: Recently, the prevalence of food allergies during childhood is increasing, with fruits being common allergens. However, data on allergens that cause fruit and vegetable allergies and pollen-food allergy syndrome (PFAS) in childhood are relatively few. This study aimed to examine the allergens in fruit and vegetable allergies in pediatric patients and to determine the association between fruit and vegetable allergies and PFAS.OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the current status of fruit and vegetable allergies in Japanese children.METHODS: This was a multicenter case series observational study. The participants included children aged <15 years who developed allergic symptoms after eating fruits and vegetables and subsequently received treatment in the Pediatric Department of 6 hospitals in the Osaka Prefecture in Japan during the study period from August 2016 to July 2017. Participants' information was obtained using a questionnaire, and data were obtained by performing several types of allergy tests using blood samples.RESULTS: A total of 97 children (median age, 9 years; 56 males) were included in the study. Apple was the most common allergen, followed by peach, kiwi, cantaloupe, and watermelon. A total of 74 participants (76%) exhibited allergic symptoms due to PFAS; moreover, pathogenesis-related protein-10 (PR-10) was the most common allergen superfamily. On the contrary, in the group where neither PR-10 nor profilin was sensitized, kiwi and banana were the most common allergens, and the age of onset was lower than that in the PFAS group. Specific antibody titer was significantly associated with Birch for Bet v1 and latex for Bet v2 (r = 0.99 and r = 0.89).CONCLUSION: When we examine patients with fruit and vegetable allergies, we should first consider PFAS even in childhood specifically for children greater than 4 years old.
Age of Onset ; Allergens ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Betula ; Child ; Citrullus ; Clinical Study ; Cucumis melo ; Eating ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Fruit ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Japan ; Latex ; Musa ; Observational Study ; Prevalence ; Profilins ; Prunus persica ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal ; Vegetables

Cucurbitaceae is an important family of flowering plants containing multiple species of important food plants, such as melons, cucumbers, squashes, and pumpkins. However, a highly efficient genetic transformation system has not been established for most of these species (Nanasato and Tabei, 2020). Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), an economically important and globally cultivated fruit crop, is a model species for fruit quality research due to its rich diversity of fruit size, shape, flavor, aroma, texture, peel and flesh color, and nutritional composition (Guo et al., 2019). Through pan-genome sequencing, many candidate loci associated with fruit quality traits have been identified (Guo et al., 2019). However, few of these loci have been validated. The major barrier is the low transformation efficiency of the species, with only few successful cases of genetic transformation reported so far (Tian et al., 2017; Feng et al., 2021; Wang JF et al., 2021; Wang YP et al., 2021). For example, Tian et al. (2017) obtained only 16 transgenic lines from about 960 cotyledon fragments, yielding a transformation efficiency of 1.67%. Therefore, efficient genetic transformation could not only facilitate the functional genomic studies in watermelon as well as other horticultural species, but also speed up the transgenic and genome-editing breeding.
CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Citrullus/genetics* ; Cucurbitaceae/genetics* ; Gene Editing ; Plant Breeding ; Transformation, Genetic

Objectives: The increasing use of the Internet as a source of health information makes the accuracy of such information crucial. An example is the use of the widely advertised bitter melon (Momordica charantia) in treating diabetes despite its unproven efficacy. This study aims to assess the accuracy of websites containing information on bitter melon’s role in diabetes, to search for the presence of the proposed quality indicators, and to determine their correlation with accuracy. Methodology: An Internet search was used to generate a list of websites. The accuracy of each website was determined by comparing its content with that of a tool that was developed from authoritative sources. The presence of the proposed quality indicators, taken from published guidelines, was then correlated with accuracy. Results: Of the 158 websites identified, 10 (6.33%) were characterized as “most accurate” and 21 (13.3%) as “somewhat accurate.” The identified indicators of accuracy were the HONcode logo (OR 12.1, p=0.011); the author, identified as a healthcare professional (OR = 6.11, p = 0.008); and a citation from a peer-reviewed medical literature (OR 2.92, p = 0.029). Conclusion These findings suggest that most of the Internet-based information on bitter melon’s role in diabetes is inaccurate. The public can use several indicators of accurate information on the use of bitter melon in diabetes to improve health care.
Internet ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Momordica Charantia