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Climacteric type muskmelons (Cucumis melo L.) are highly perishable and susceptible to moisture loss and decay during storage and transport, and possess very short storage life under ambient conditions. The present study was carried out during 2021 to 2023 at ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru, Karnataka to study the effect of different edible coatings in combination with cold storage on various physico-chemical parameters of muskmelon. Muskmelon cv. Arka Siri was coated with different edible coatings, viz. shellac based (NISA, Ranchi formulation), sodium alginate (1%), chitosan (1%) and gum arabica (5%) along with control. The experiment was laid out in a factorial completely randomised design (FCRD). The results revealed that muskmelon fruits coated with shellac based formulation had least physiological loss in weight, lower respiration rate and lower ethylene production during storage at 10°C. The shellac based coating was able to maintain highest mean firmness and biochemical parameters such as total soluble solid (8.53%), acidity, ascorbic acid (4.66 mg/100 g), sugars, total carotenoids (2034.14 µg/100 g), total phenolic content and total antioxidant activity of muskmelon fruits and extended the storage life to 21 days compared to 14 days in control when stored at 10°C. Muskmelon fruits coated with shellac based coating were much appreciated for their appearance, flavour, taste and overall acceptability by the panelists.

Hybrid molecules maintain their stronghold in the drug market, with over 60% of drug candidates in pharmaceutical industries. The substantial expenses for developing and producing biologically privileged drugs are expected to create opportunities for producing hybrid molecule-based drugs. Therefore, we have developed a simple and efficient copper-catalyzed approach for synthesizing a wide range of triazole-linked glycohybrids derived from pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines. Employing a microwave-assisted copper-catalyzed approach, we developed a concise route using various 7-O-propargylated pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines and 1-azidoglycosides. This strategy afforded a series of twenty-seven glycohybrids up to 98% yield with diverse stereochemistry. All were achieved within a remarkably shortened time frame. Our investigation extends to evaluating the anticancer potential of these synthesized triazole-linked pyrazolo[1,5-a] pyrimidine-based glycohybrids. In-vitro assays against MCF-7, MDA-MB231, and MDA-MB453 cell lines reveal intriguing findings. (2R,3S,4S,5R,6R)-2-(acetoxymethyl)-6-(4-(((5-(4-chlorophenyl)pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7-yl)oxy)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3,4,5-triyl triacetate emerges as a standout with better anticancer activity against MDA-MB231 cells (IC 50  = 29.1 µM), while (2R,3R,4S,5R,6R)-2-(acetoxymethyl)-6-(4-(((5-(4-chlorophenyl)pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7-yl)oxy)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3,4,5-triyl triacetate demonstrates the best inhibitory effects against MCF-7 cells (IC 50  = 15.3 µM) in all derived compounds. These results align with our docking analysis and structure-activity relationship (SAR) investigations, further validating the in-vitro outcomes. This work not only underscores the synthetic utility of our devised protocol but also highlights the promising potential of these glycohybrids as candidates for further anticancer therapeutic exploration., (© 2024. The Author(s).)