Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate whether HO-1 could affect anthocyanin biosynthesis in radish sprouts（Raphanus sativus L.）and its related mechanism. The results indicated that pre-treatment with Hemin，a inducer of heme oxygenase-1（HO-1），the content of anthocyanin was obviously increased，however，pre-treament with zinc protoporphyrin（ZnPPIX），a potent inhibitor of HO-1，we found a notable decreasing in anthocyanin accumulation. In addition，the expression of the main regulatory gene PAP1 and structural genes PAL，CHS，CHI，F3H and DFR associated with anthocyanin synthesis were significantly improved when treated with Hemin. These results suggest that heme oxygenase-1 can promote the production of anthocyanin and this up-regulation was achieved by enhancing the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis-associated genes.

Key words: radish sprouts, HO-1, anthocyanin, biosynthesis, gene expression