Chemical and biological properties of the world's most expensive spice: Saffron

Melnyk, John P.; Wang, Sunan; Marcone, Massimo F.

doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2010.07.033

Cited by 313 publications

(211 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Ranges of all chemical constituents can vary greatly due to growing conditions and country of origin. Among the estimated more than 150 volatile and several non volatile compounds of saffron, approximately 40-50 constituents have already been identified (Bathaie and Mousavi 2010;Melnyk et al 2010;Abdullaev and Espinosa-Aguirre 2004). Table 1 illustrates the chemical composition analyses of saffron stigma.…”

Section: Saffron Chemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Safranal represents about 30-70 % of volatile components and 0.001-0.006 % of dry matter of saffron. safranal is present in low amount in fresh stigmas and after drying of the stigmas or the passage of time, it is produced in high amount from its precursor (Maggi et al 2011;Melnyk et al 2010;Jalali-Heravi et al 2009;Abdullaev and Espinosa-Aguirre 2004). …”

Section: Saffron Chemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the relationship between saffron compounds and cancer is an important problem, comprehensive studies need to be conducted further along the following issues such as determination of the mechanism(s) involved in the therapeutic properties of saffron, study the mechanism(s) involved in saffron cancer chemoprevention, determine the biologically active components of saffron and human studies to define efficacy of saffron in cancer treatment and prevention (Hosseinpour-Chermahini et al 2010). Among the different hypothesis underlying the modes of anticarcinogenic and anti tumor actions of saffron and its bioactive components, it is suggested that the inhibitory effect on free radical chain reactions may be related to antioxidant properties of saffron especially crocin compound which is regarded as the most promising anticancer compound in saffron (Melnyk et al 2010;Hosseinpour-Chermahini et al 2010). Thus, it is proposed that saffron and constituents, alone or in combination with other chemical substances, could attain particular relevance in future treatment of some cancers.…”

Section: Meoh Etoh or H 2 Omentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It should be noted that several in vivo studies in animals have been indicated a very low or even non-existent toxicity of both saffron and its extracts. Other reports showed the toxic effect of 5 g and more amounts, with a lethal dose of approximately 20 g/kg which explains why toxicology researches currently consider it to be safe for human consumption (Bathaie and Mousavi 2010;Melnyk et al 2010). The saffron use in food applications has been recently increased, despite its high price due to changes in consumer preference toward natural products (Amin et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of antioxidant activities of bioactive compounds and various extracts obtained from saffron (Crocus sativus L.): a review

et al. 2014

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Saffron (Crocus sativus L. stigma), the most valuable medicinal food product, belongs to the Iridaceae family which has been widely used as a coloring and flavoring agent. These properties are basically related to its crocins, picrocrocin and safranal contents which have all demonstrated health promoting properties. The present review article highlights the phytochemical constituents (phenolic and flavonoid compounds, degraded carotenoid compounds crocins and crocetin) that are important in antioxidant activity of saffron extracts. However, the synergistic effect of all the bioactive components presence in saffron gave a significant antioxidant activity similar to vegetables rich in carotenoids. Our study provides an updated overview focused on the antioxidant activity of saffron related to its bioactive compounds to design the different functional products in food, medicine and cosmetic industries.

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Section: Saffron Chemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Saffron Chemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Meoh Etoh or H 2 Omentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of antioxidant activities of bioactive compounds and various extracts obtained from saffron (Crocus sativus L.): a review

et al. 2014

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“…Recent studies on herbal medicines are shown that the extracts of saffron, a famous Persian food additive, can have many therapeutic properties, such as neuroprotective effects on neural injuries and enhancing cognitive functions (25)(26)(27), as well as anticancer, antidepressant, anti-atherosclerosis, and anti-inflammatory activities (28)(29)(30)(31)(32). The major active component of saffron, responsible for its red color, is crocin, which is a water-soluble carotenoid with antioxidant activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Saffron Aquatic Extract and Crocin on the Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells Into Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells

et al. 2018

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Background: Oligodendrocytes are myelin-producing cells, which develop from oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) and may be damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS) and traumatic brain injuries. Promotion of neural stem cell (NSC) differentiation into oligodendrocytes in vivo is a viable strategy to replace the lost myelinating cells and restore motor functions in such debilitating diseases. Crocus sativus L. or saffron has been used as a spice since ancient times. Saffron and its major active component, crocin, are well-known for their medicinal and neuroprotective activities. The current study aimed at assessing the effect of saffron extract and crocin on the differentiation of NSCs into OPCs. Methods: To isolate NSCs, 14-day embryonic rats cortices were cultured, using the neurosphere assay. NSCs were cultured in a complete NSC medium under 4 different treatment conditions: 1, Negative control group, 10 ng/mL of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF); 2, Positive control group, 10 ng/mL of bFGF plus 30 ng/mL of platelet-derived growth factor-AA (PDGF-AA); 3, Crocin group, crocin extract plus 10 ng/mL of bFGF; and 4, Saffron group, saffron extract plus 10 ng/mL of bFGF in 2 or 5 days. The level of Olig2 protetin, an early OPC marker, was evaluated by flow cytometry 2 days after the treatment. The level of sox10 mRNA expression, involving in OPC maturation processes, was assessed in the study groups via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 5 days after the treatment. All the experiments were done in triplicate. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with Graph Pad Prism version 6.01; P < 0.05 was considered as the level of significance.Results: The present data demonstrated that, similar to the positive control group, the rate of olig2 + cells in the crocin and saffron

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Role of anti‐inflammatory interventions in high‐fat‐diet‐induced obesity

Ghazala

Medney

Meleis

et al. 2020

Biomedical Chromatography

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Lipotoxicity is defined as deposition of excess fat associated with an inflammatory response. Metabolomic analysis of fatty acids (FAs) can be a marker of silent inflammation. ω3‐Enriched diet, celecoxib, and safranal may have a protective anti‐inflammatory role. In this work, total FAs extracted from red blood cells and arachidonic acid‐to‐eicosapentaenoic acid (AA‐to‐EPA) ratios were assessed using GC–MS assay in single‐ion monitoring mode. The study was conducted on 64 male rats divided into eight groups: I, controls; II, rats received high‐fat diet (HFD), III, rats received ω‐6‐enriched HFD; IV, rats received ω‐3‐enriched HFD; V, rats received celecoxib with HFD; VI, rats received safranal with HFD; VII and VIII, rats received celecoxib and safranal with ω‐3 HFD, respectively. GC–MS Gas chromatography Mass spectrometry was performed for analysis of fatty acid methyl ester. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay was used to analyze serum interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and transforming growth factor‐beta 1 (TGF‐β1) concentrations. A statistically significant decrease of AA‐to‐EPA ratio was observed in group VII when compared with the groups receiving HFDs. This group also showed the lowest serum IL‐6 level and highest TGF‐β1 level. In conclusion, ω3‐enriched diet along with drugs (e.g. celecoxib) and herbal medications (e.g. safranal) may have an anti‐inflammatory effect in lipotoxicity. GC–MS with single‐ion monitoring is valid for the analysis of FAs.

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Chemical and biological properties of the world's most expensive spice: Saffron

Cited by 313 publications

References 51 publications

Evaluation of antioxidant activities of bioactive compounds and various extracts obtained from saffron (Crocus sativus L.): a review

Evaluation of antioxidant activities of bioactive compounds and various extracts obtained from saffron (Crocus sativus L.): a review

The Effect of Saffron Aquatic Extract and Crocin on the Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells Into Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells

Role of anti‐inflammatory interventions in high‐fat‐diet‐induced obesity

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