Kolotsint or kolokvint [2] ( lat. Citrullus colocynthis ) - a plant , a species of the genus Watermelon ( Citrullus ) family Pumpkin ( Cucurbitaceae ), comes from the Mediterranean and Asia . It is generally considered the ancestor of a cultivated watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ), although based on genetic studies ( DNA from chloroplasts ) it has been suggested that cultivated watermelon and colocynt come from a common ancestor - possibly Citrullus ecirrhosus [3] (“tsamma melon”).
| Colocint |
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| Scientific classification |
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| Subfamily : | Cucurbitoideae |
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| International scientific name |
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Citrullus colocynthis ( L. ) Schrad. |
| Synonyms |
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- Colocynthis vulgaris Schrad.
- Cucumis colocynthis L. basionym
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The Russian name is from the Latin species name colocynthis , which is from other Greek. κολοκύνθη " pumpkin ".
The colocint is also known under the names "colocint", "colocint cucumber" [4] , "colocvint" [5] ; “Bitter gourd” [6] ; “Bitter apple”, “bitter cucumber” (obsolete) [7] ; "The vine of Sodom" [8] .
In Farsi, the plant is called "watermelon Abu Jahl " ( Pers. هندوانه ابوجهل ).
The range of the species covers the sandy steppes and semi-deserts of North Africa, the Mediterranean coast, the Arabian Peninsula , Iran and some parts of Pakistan and India. The plant is cultivated within its range.
Colocint.
Botanical illustration from
Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen , 1887
Kolotsint - a perennial herb plant, creeping on the ground and clinging to the antennae. Leaves are rounded-notched deeply three-five-lobed. Flowers unisexual solitary large yellow spontaneous with tubular corolla. Fruits - spherical three-nosed berries the size of a lemon , with a dense smooth green-spotted peel. When ripe, the peel becomes straw-yellow, and the placenta breaks down, and a three-beam gap forms in the center of the fetus. Inside the fruit contains white flesh (pulp) with numerous seeds. Seeds are ovoid, flat, smooth, hard, yellowish. They have a very bitter taste , but are odorless . [9]
The raw materials used are collected ripened fruits, which are peeled with a knife from the yellow peel and dried. Peeled dried fruit is very light, 5-8 cm in diameter, consists of loose white pulp and numerous seeds. [9]
The fruit pulp contains resins extracted with diethyl ether and chloroform , glycosides (up to 2%), pectins and proteins . Seeds are rich in fatty oil. The strong laxative effect of the plant fruits is due to the glycosides contained in them, the genins of which are elaterins - derivatives of the tetracyclic triterpene cucurbitacin . [9]
The powder or extract of the fruits of colocint is used as strong laxatives and liver stimulants, they are also part of the medicine for dropsy. [10] In case of overdose, they can cause severe severe pain in the intestines with dangerous inflammation. In places of its growth, the plant has been used as a medicine since ancient times. It was introduced into European medicine by Arabs. [10]
The colocyntum, which also grows in Israel , is identified with the “wild pumpkin” [8] mentioned in the Fourth Book of Kings (2 Kings 4: 38–41 ).
Colocinte seeds are bitter, but edible, have a nutty flavor and are rich in fats and proteins. They are eaten whole or used to make butter. The fat content in the seeds is 17-19%.
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Fruits of the colocyte: on the left - immature, on the right - ripe. |
- ↑ For the conventionality of specifying the class of dicotyledons as a superior taxon for the plant group described in this article, see the APG Systems section of the Dicotyledonous article .
- ↑ Colocvint // Collimator - Korzhina. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1953. - S. 18-19. - (The Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 51 vols.] / Ch. Ed. B.A. Vvedensky ; 1949-1958, vol. 22).
- ↑ Dane, Fenny; Liu, Jiarong. Diversity and origin of cultivated and citron type watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ) (Eng.) // Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution: journal. - 2006. - Vol. 54 , no. 6 . - P. 1255 . - DOI : 10.1007 / s10722-006-9107-3 .
- ↑ Colocintus // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- ↑ Explanatory Dictionary of Foreign Words by L.P. Krysin. - M: Russian language, 1998
- ↑ Common colocint // Encyclopedia of medicinal plants. - M.: House of SMEs. T. A. Goncharova. 1997
- ↑ COLOQUINT, COLOCINTH // Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. - Pavlenkov F., 1907
- ↑ 1 2 Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. (unspecified) . USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System . Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory. Beltsville, Maryland. Accessed July 28, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 3 D. Muravyova. Tropical and subtropical medicinal plants: - M .; Medicine, 1983, p. 291
- ↑ 1 2 D. Muravyova. Tropical and subtropical medicinal plants: - M .; Medicine, 1983, p. 293
- Muravyova D.A. Tropical and subtropical medicinal plants: - M .; Medicine, 1983, 336 p., With silt.
