Religious and Cultural Significance of the Citron （Citrus medica L. ＇Diamante＇） from Calabria （South Italy）： A Biblical Fruit of the Mediterranean Land

The history and geographical origin of citron （Citrus medica L.） is still unknown but most of authors agree that it originated in Southeast Asia. There are different opinions about the exact period and the steps by which it was brought from its country of origin to the Mediterranean basin where it is cultivated in Corsica, Crete and in southern Italy （Calabria region）. In particulary, Citrus medica ＇Diamante＇ grows, almost exclusively, in a restricted area of the Tyrrhenian cost of the region Calabria, called ＂Riviera dei Cedri＂, a relevant local economic district. This citron has been and is, still being used by Jews for worship during the Feast of Tabernacles, a very important religious ritual, where it plays a prominent part; in fact, for this holiday of Sukkot, the use of the authentic citron that grows in Calabria region is recommended, because it is not grafted. In this paper, the fascinating history of C. medica and its spread from the centers of origin to the Mediterranean is reported with the aim to investigate the religious and cultural significance of the C. medica ＇Diamante＇, an exclusive and historical heritage of the Calabria region.

Secretory Cavity Development and Its Relationship with the Accumulation of Essential Oil in Fruits of Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis （Noot.） Swingle

The developmental types of secretory cavities in Citrus remain controversial. The relationship between secretory cavity development and the accumulation of essential oil in fruits of Citrus species is also unknown. In order to develop better insights into these problems, histological, histochemical, and cytochemical methods were used to investigate secretory cavity development and the accumulation of essential oll at different developmental stages of fruits of Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis （Noot.） Swingle. The results indicate that the secretory cavity of the variety seemed to originate from an epidermal cell and a subepldermal cell. These two cells underwent successive divisions, resulting In the formation of two parts： （Ⅰ） a conical cap; and （Ⅱ） a globular gland. The formation of the lumen was schlzolysigenous. Regular changes in the size of vacuoles and the accumulation of essential oil were revealed during the process of secretory cavity development. In addition, when fruits were a light yellow or golden color, the structure of secretory cavities was well developed and the content of essential oil in a single fruit reached a maximum. It would be most appropriate to collect the fruit as a medicinal material at this time.

Synthetic and biological studies on a cyclopolypeptide of plant origin

Objective:A natural cyclic peptide previously isolated from Citrus medica was synthesized by coupling of tetrapep-tide units Boc-Leu-Pro-Trp-Leu-OMe and Boc-Ile-Ala-Ala-Gly-OMe after proper deprotection at carboxyl and amino terminals followed by cyclization of linear octapeptide segment. Methods:Solution phase technique was adopted for the synthesis of cyclooctapeptide-sarcodactylamide. Required tetrapeptide units were prepared by coupling of Boc-protected dipeptides viz. Boc-Leu-Pro-OH and Boc-Ile-Ala-OH with respective dipeptide methyl esters Trp-Leu-OMe and Ala-Gly-OMe. Cyclization of linear octapeptide unit was done by p-nitrophenyl ester method. The structure of synthesized cyclopolypeptide was elucidated by FTIR,1H NMR,13C NMR,FABMS spectral data and elemental analysis. The newly synthesized peptide was evaluated for dif-ferent pharmacological activities including antimicrobial,anthelmintic and cytotoxic activities. Results:Synthesis of sarcodac-tylamide was accomplished with >78% yield utilizing dicyclohexylcarbodiimide(DCC) as coupling agent. Newly synthesized peptide possessed potent cytotoxic activity against Dalton's lymphoma ascites(DLA) and Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma(EAC) cell lines,in addition to moderate anthelmintic activity against earthworms Megascoplex konkanensis,Pontoscotex corethruses and Eudrilus sp. Moreover,cyclopolypeptide displayed good antimicrobial activity against pathogenic fungi Candida albicans and Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa,in comparison to standard drugs griseofulvin and ciprofloxacin. Conclusion:Solution phase technique employing DCC and triethylamine(TEA) as base proved to be effective for the synthesis of natural cyclooctapeptide. N-methyl morpholine(NMM) was found to be a better base for the cyclization of linear octapeptide unit in comparison to TEA and pyridine.