The extraction of cell wall components was performed according to previous studies (Deng et al., 2005 and Murayama et al., 2006), with slight modifications. Briefly, flesh obtained from the equatorial regions of Hami melons was ground using a mortar and pestle in an ice cold bath. Ground material (5 g) was boiled in 80% (v/v) ethanol (100 mL) for 20 min, allowed to cool to room temperature, and centrifuged at 2000×g for 10 min.