Effects of Cadmium on Physiochemistry and Bioactive Substances of Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.)

Abstract

Muskmelon pedicel is the fruit stalk of muskmelon and one of the traditional Chinese medicines, which can be used to treat jaundice, diabetes and neuropathy. However, in recent years, agricultural soil heavy metal cadmium (Cd) pollution has become serious, coupled with the imperfect sales management of herbal medicine, increasing the potential health risk of contaminated herbal medicine in the human body. In this paper, the comprehensive quality of contaminated muskmelon was tested. The results showed that Cd stress significantly inhibited the growth of muskmelon plants, reduced the anthocyanin and chlorophyll contents, and increased the fruit size and sweetness of muskmelon. In addition, heavy metal Cd can also cause oxidative stress in plants, resulting in a series of changes in antioxidant enzyme activities. In the experimental group, the content of polyphenols and saponins increased by 27.02% and 23.92%, respectively, after high-concentration Cd treatment, which may be a mechanism of plant resistance to stress. This paper reveals that the content of bioactive substances in Chinese herbal medicine is high, but the harm in heavy metals cannot be underestimated, which should be paid attention to by relevant departments.

Identification and characterization of the critical genes encoding Cd-induced enhancement of SOD isozymes activities in Zhe-Maidong (Ophiopogon japonicus)

“…In the study by Al Mahmud et al., the presence of mild and severe Cd stress in Brassica juncea L. resulted in an elevation of SOD activity, whereas the CAT activity declined as the intensity of the stress grew ( Al Mahmud et al., 2018 ). Additionally, Cd treatment resulted in a considerable rise in plant leaf SOD activity in muskmelon, which tended to decrease as Cd content increased ( Wang et al., 2022 ).…”