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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Methods and Application of Food Composition Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #422670
Research Project: Farm to Table Factors: Impact of Production, Processing, and Preparation on Food Composition

Location: Methods and Application of Food Composition Laboratory

Title: Metabolomic profiling of novel muskmelon cultigens reveals regional variations in fruit composition across four distinct U.S. growing locations

Author
item SINGH, JASHBIR - Texas A&M University
item METRANI, RITA - Texas A&M University
item KUMAR JHA, DEEPAK - Texas A&M University
item CROSBY, KEVIN - Texas A&M University
item JIFON, JOHN - Texas A&M University
item RAVISHANKAR, SADHANA - Texas A&M University
item BRIERLEY, PAUL - Texas A&M University
item LESKOVAR, DANIEL - Texas A&M University
item TURINI, THOMAS - Texas A&M University
item GUAN, WENJING - Texas A&M University
item Luthria, Devanand
item PATIL, BHIMANAGOUDA - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Foods
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/5/2025
Publication Date: 6/1/2025
Citation: Singh, J., Metrani, R., Kumar Jha, D., Crosby, K.M., Jifon, J.L., Ravishankar, S., Brierley, P., Leskovar, D.I., Turini, T.A., Guan, W., Luthria, D.L., Patil, B.S. 2025. Metabolomic profiling of novel muskmelon cultigens reveals regional variations in fruit composition across four distinct U.S. growing locations. Foods. 142. Article 107470. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2025.107470.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2025.107470

Interpretive Summary: Understanding the role of crop management, environmental conditions, and genotypes is critical for improving the yield and quality of agricultural products. In this collaborative research project, most of the experimental work was performed at the Vegetable & Fruit Improvement Center, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University. Data analysis and manuscript was written at MAFCL, USDA. In this manuscript we evaluated the eight newly developed muskmelon cultigens grown at four locations (Texas, California, Arizona, and Indiana) for their phytochemical compositions. This information will be of significant importance for researchers and breeders to develop better yield and quality of muskmelon.

Technical Abstract: Understanding the role of crop management, environmental conditions, and genotypes is critical for improving the yield and quality of agricultural products. Here, we evaluated the phytochemical compositions of eight newly developed muskmelon (Cucumis melo) cultigens grown at four locations (Texas, California, Arizona, and Indiana) in the United States. All the cultigens had total soluble solids contents higher than 10 °Brix, except for fruits grown in Indiana. The soluble sugars (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) among the samples averaged 22.6'%, 35.7'%, and 41.7'%, respectively. ß-carotene was the prominent carotenoid, and its content ranged between 13.4'±'1.1–37.6'±'3.8'µg/g FW. Lower levels of colorless carotenoids phytoene and phytofluene were also quantified. The four most prominent amino acids were glutamine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and '-aminobutyric acid, which were present in higher concentrations compared with other amino acids in all cultigens. A principal component analysis of studied quality attributes differentiated two muskmelon cultigens (TH1 and TH6) by growing location. This information will be important for researchers and breeders to develop better yield and quality of muskmelon.