Pumpkin is a widely cultivated vegetable used for human consumption and traditional medicine this investigation will provide much more information for the further exploration of pumpkin seeds. In the present study, the contents of total phenolics, phytosterols, squalene, α-tocopherol, polysaccharides and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from the five types of pumpkin seeds cultivars were determined by established methods. The total phenolics contents of the pumpkin seeds ranged from 0.96 to 2.52 mg/g, total phytosterols contents ranged from 2.02 to 2.65 mg/g, while the levels of squalene and α-tocopherol detected ranged from 0.92 to 1.29 mg/g and 83.09 to 98.57µg/g, respectively. Polysaccharides were the most abundant constituents, ranging in concentration from 119.42 to 143.77 mg/g, GABA was also present in significant concentrations ranged from 3.71 to15.53 mg/g. Results indicated that bioactive ingredients from Baoku1 exhibited the relatively higher values in all the cultivars.

Ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) method was developed for continued extraction of flavonols and anthocyanins from Blueberry. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize experimental conditions for extraction of flavonols and anthocyanins. Three major independent variables such as ultrasonic power (W), extraction time (min), liquid to solid ratio (mL/g) were studied. The optimal extraction conditions of flavonols and anthocyanins were determined as follows: ultrasonic power 512.7 W, extraction time 29.8 min, liquid to solid ratio 9.5:1 mL /g. Under a modified condition (ultrasonic power 510W, extraction time 30 min, liquid to solid ratio 10:1 mL /g), the experimental yields of flavonols and anthocyanins were 0.806mg/g and 2.903mg/g respectively, which were agreed closely with the predicted values (0.804mg/g and 2.899mg/g).

The quantitative distribution of volatile compounds in the different oriental melon varieties and in the different parts of oriental melon was investigated. Volatile compounds were extracted by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Fifty-four compounds were identified including 33 esters, 3 thioesters, 7 aldehydes, 8 alcohols, 1 acid, 1 ketone and 1 phenol, among which esters were found to be the major constituents in ripe oriental melon. The results showed that ethyl acetate, sulfur-containing esters and compounds containing a straight nine-carbon chain were present at high concentrations in oriental melons, particularly acetic acid phenylmethyl ester. The majority of ester compounds of oriental melon decreased and the aldehyde compounds increased after storage at -20 °C and the distribution of volatiles was also found to be different in the umbilicus, middle and pedicel of an oriental melon Qitian 1 according to their carbon chain length and quantity.

Response surface methodology (RSM) complemented with a central composite design (CCD) was employed to optimize and compare three different anthocyanins extraction methods (solid–liquid extraction(SLE), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE)) from blackcurrant fruits. The aim was to obtain extracts with high anthocyanins content, which would be potentially interesting for commercial applications as natural colorants. Three major independent variables such as extraction time(min), ethanol concentration (%,v/v), solution to solid ratio (mL/g) were coded at five levels and their actual values were selected on the basis of preliminary experimental results. Results indicated that the yields of anthocyanins varied when extracted with different method, the order of anthocyanins yield from high to low was: MAE (95.77%), UAE (93.65%) and SLE (90.82%). Among three reaction parameters, ethanol concentration consistently tended to significantly affect the anthocyanins yield for above three models (p < 0.0001). MAE was the best of three methods in this study and the optimal values were as follows: extract time controlled at 6.3 min, ethanol concentration maintained at 72.8%, solution to solid ratio equaled to 8.1:1 and working power at 400W. The experimental anthocyanins value under above optimum conditions could reach to 95.77±1.05% that was in perfect agreement with the predicted model 95.52%.

Ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) method was applied for polysaccharides from blackcurrant and response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the effects of processing parameters on polysaccharides yields. Three major independent variables such as ultrasonic power (W), extraction time (min), liquid to solid ratio (mL/g) were studied. The optimal extraction conditions of polysaccharides were determined as follows: ultrasonic power 402.2 W, extraction time 25.5 min, liquid to solid ratio 20.3:1 mL/g. Under a modified conditions (ultrasonic power 400W, extraction time 25 min, liquid to solid ratio 20:1 mL/g, the experimental yield of polysaccharides was 11.19%, which was agreed closely with the predicted value (11.24%).