New Applications and Mechanisms of Action of Saffron and its Important Ingredients

Abstract

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) has been an important subject of interest for research teams in the past two decades because of its various biological properties. Chemical analysis has shown the presence of more than 150 components in saffron stigmas. Here, we review the medicinal and industrial applications of saffron. Then, the new findings from different research groups about its medicinal properties and various cellular and molecular mechanisms of action will be discussed. The methods used for this study included searching Web of Science and Medline for saffron and its constituent's applications. The results show that in recent years saffron's application in a variety of disorders involving neuronal, cardiovascular and other systems, as well as cancer have been investigated. The cellular and molecular mechanisms of its action are also under study. The more powerful components of saffron are carotenoids and monoterpene aldehydes. Structure-function relationship studies show that some properties are related to deglycosylated derivatives, while others belong to more glycosylated ones. Our study concludes that saffron has a wide range of usefulness in medicine, cosmetics, and coloring industries, so it can be used for new drug designs. However, more research about its mechanism of action is needed.

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

“…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.…”

“…Among the four crocins, crocin 1 or α-crocin is the most abundant in saffron and has been extensively studied for its antioxidant activity by quenching free radicals and protecting cells and tissues against oxidation. Besides, other minor carotenoids are also present in saffron such as carotenes, lycopene, zeaxanthin, mangicrocin and xanthone-carotenoid glycosidic conjugate (Licon et al 2012;Maggi et al 2011;Bathaie and Mousavi 2010;Hadizedeh et al 2010;Asai et al 2005;Li et al 1999). picrocrocin (C 16 H 26 O 7 ) which is a colorless glycoside and product of zeaxanthin degradation and is the main substance responsible for the bitter taste of saffron.…”

“…This method designed according to important property of crocin carotenoid as a basic element for the antioxidant activity of saffron (Bathaie et al 2011;Bathaie and Mousavi 2010). Several studies suggested that sugars attached to the crocetin moiety probably play a key role in biological effects of crocins (Papandreou et al 2006;Abe et al 1998;Escribano et al 1996).…”

“…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).…”

“…Interest in the impact of saffron carotenoids on human health is due to their high antioxidant capacity which was investigated by many researchers (Makhlouf et al 2011;Asdaq and Inamdar 2010;Karimi et al 2010;Bathaie and Mousavi 2010;TavakkolAfshari et al 2008;Kanakis et al 2007;Soeda et al 2007;Magesh et al 2006;Ochiai et al 2004;Selim et al 2000;Verma and Bordia 1998;Nair et al 1995). One of hypothesis for the modes of anti carcinogenic and anti tumor actions of saffron has been proposed the inhibitory effect on free radical chain reactions (Makhlouf et al 2011).…”