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Potential of Spices As Medicines and Immunity Boosters
Published in Amit Baran Sharangi, K. V. Peter, Medicinal Plants, 2023
Minoo Divakaran, K. Nirmal Babu, K. V. Peter
Saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, is valued both for its traditional value, as a food additive, and therapeutic properties. Used as an anti-depressant in Persian traditional medicine (TM), a comparative study has been made on the effect of combining hydro-alcoholic extract of Crocus sativus (stigma) with fluoxetine, for the management of depression. A population, which was administered saffron 30 mg/day two times a day and another which was given fluoxetine capsules alone, in the dosage of 20 mg/day (twice) for 6-weeks, showed at the end of the study period, that saffron was similar to fluoxetine in the treatment of depression, without any significant differences in terms of observed side effects (Noorbala et al., 2005). When saffron (50 mg) dissolved in 100 ml of milk was fed, to 20 people, a major decrease in lipoprotein oxidation susceptibility (LOS), was observed in 10 of them, who suffered from Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). This indicated the potential of Saffron as an antioxidant (Verma and Bordia, 1998). Similar studies have indicated its action as a tonic, stomachic, and protectant against carcinogenesis (Peter and Shylaja, 2012).
Crocus sativus and the Prized Commodity, Saffron
Published in Raymond Cooper, Jeffrey John Deakin, Natural Products of Silk Road Plants, 2020
Jeffrey John Deakin, Raymond Cooper
Despite its cost, saffron is used as a Dye in a very wide range of foods including cheeses, liqueurs, curries, and meat dishesSeasoning in foodFragranceFolk medicine for all manner of ailments although in the modern world in connection with its anticancer (Negbi, 1999; Akhtari et al., 213; Escribano et al., 1996; Chryssanthi et al., 2007), antidepressant, neuroprotective effects (Hausenblas et al., 2013; Mykhailenko et al., 2019), and anti-inflammatory, antioxidant value in cardiovascular health (Ghaffaris and Roshanravan, 2019). Remedial effects for sexual dysfunction have also been indicated (Ranjbar and Ashrafizaveh, 2019). A summary of the pharmacological aspects of potential medical applications of saffron was published by Leone et al. (2018).
Influence of Light on Essential Oil Constituents
Published in K. Hüsnü Can Başer, Gerhard Buchbauer, Handbook of Essential Oils, 2020
Marie-Christine Cudlik, Gerhard Buchbauer
Saffron is, amongst other uses, a spice consisting of the dried stigmas of Crocus sativus L. (saffron, Iridaceae) and one of the most expensive spices in the world (Raghavan, 2006). The most abundant constituent of saffron EO, safranal, is mainly responsible for the typical saffron aroma and was found to elicit many effects on the central nervous system, such as antidepressant, anticonvulsive, hypnotic effects, and many more (Rezaee and Hosseinzadeh, 2013). Khayyat and Elgendy studied safranal epoxidation, adding 30% hydrogen peroxide and subduing the mixture to 50 hours of irradiation with a sodium lamp under nitrogen atmosphere. The photochemical reaction resulted in 2,2,6-trimethyl-7-oxabicyclo[4.1.0]-hept-4-ene-1-carbaldehyde (compound 1 in Figure 28.13) and diepoxy derivative 2,5,5-Trimethyl-3,8-dioxa-tricyclo[5.1.0.02,4]octane-4-carbaldehyde (compound 2 in Figure 28.13), in yields of 65% and 35%, respectively. The proposed reaction pathways are shown in Figure 28.13. Subsequent analysis of the antibacterial activity of the epoxidation products proved that the monoepoxy and diepoxy derivatives of safranal possess an increased effect against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Effects of pinealectomy and crocin treatment on rats with isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction
Published in Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2022
Mehmet Demir, Eyup Altinoz, Hulya Elbe, Yasemin Bicer, Gurkan Yigitturk, Melike Karayakali, Arwa Fadıl Haqi Ballur
Saffron is the dried stigma of Crocus sativus L. (Iridaceae) flowers and one of the most valuable and expensive spices in the world. Crocin (crocetin glycoside), crocetin, and safranal are the principal active ingredients in saffron, and the pharmacological and medicinal activities of saffron depend on the concentrations of these bioactive components (Cossignani et al. 2014). Crocin, a main isolate of saffron, is a water-soluble carotenoid with high antioxidant properties. Crocin has significant properties, such as antitumor, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant, antidepressant, antiapoptotic neuroprotective, and cardioprotective activities including other therapeutic effects on different parts of the body (Khorasany and Hosseinzadeh 2016). In various studies, it was reported that crocin plays a protective role in cardiac arrhythmia and a regulatory role in heart rate and cardiac contractility (Jahanbakhsh et al. 2012). In a previous study, it was suggested that saffron and safranal may have a cardioprotective effect through the modulation of oxidative stress by preserving the redox state of the cell (Mehdizadeh et al. 2013).
Evaluation of modulatory effects of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) aqueous extract on oxidative stress in ischemic stroke patients: a randomized clinical trial
Published in Nutritional Neuroscience, 2022
Saeed Gudarzi, Mahvash Jafari, Gila Pirzad Jahromi, Reza Eshrati, Mostafa Asadollahi, Parisa Nikdokht
Saffron has been used in traditional medicine in various countries as an antispasmodic, nerve sedative, anticonvulsant, diaphoteric, expectorant, stimulant and stomachic. It has also been utilized in the treatment of learning and memory impairment, inflammatory disease and respiratory, hepatic and cardiovascular disorders [10,13,14]. One of the most important properties of saffron is its exhilarant and anti-depressant activity, which leads to the sense of happiness [12]. In Indian traditional medicine (Ayurveda), it is used as an adaptogen (considered to strengthen the body against stresses such as trauma, anxiety and fatigue) [15]. In Iranian traditional medicine, saffron has been used to cure obstructions inside brain to protect it from oxygen deprivation. In addition, the topical use of saffron in the boiling water is good for severe headaches and insomnia [14].
Metabolic impact of saffron and crocin: an updated systematic and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials
Published in Archives of Physiology and Biochemistry, 2022
Babak Roshanravan, Saeed Samarghandian, Milad Ashrafizadeh, Alireza Amirabadizadeh, Farhad Saeedi, Tahereh Farkhondeh
In the randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 205 patients have been evaluated for saffron effects. All studies were conducted by both men and women except Fadai et al. (2014), which evaluated men only in the analysis of saffron effects. Among them, 90 cases were males and 115 were females. All articles were conducted on patients ≥18 years old. The age was in the range 41–56. In this review article, subjects suffered from different disorders, including: Coronary artery disease (CAD), Hypertension (HTN) and diabetes mellitus (DM) (Abedimanesh et al. 2017), DM history (Azimi et al. 2014, Milajerdi et al. 2018), Schizophrenia, without sMet and CAD (Fadai et al. 2014), mild and moderate allergic asthma (Zilaee et al. 2019). Zilaee et al. (2018) and also Kermani et al. (2018) have studied on the patient with metabolic syndrome. Abedimanesh et al. (2017), Milajerdi et al. (2018) and Fadai et al. (2014) assessed the effects of saffron at 30 mg/d dose, Kermani et al. (2018), Zilaee et al. (2018) and Zilaee et al. (2019) assessed the saffron effects in the 100 mg/d dose and also Azimi et al. (2014) assessed these effects at the 1000 mg/d dose. The duration of treatment ranged from 8 weeks (Azimi et al. 2014, Abedimanesh et al. 2017, Milajerdi et al. 2018, Zilaee et al. 2019) and 12 weeks (Fadai et al. 2014, Kermani et al. 2018, Zilaee et al. 2018) (Table 1).