Health benefits of Saffron

  • Saffron contains many plants derived chemical compounds that are known to have been anti-oxidant, disease preventing, and health promoting properties.
  • Their flower pistils compose several essential volatile oils, but the most important of them all issafranal, which gives saffron its pleasant flavor. Other volatile oils in saffron are cineole, phenethenol, pinene,  borneol, geraniol, limonene, p-cymene, linalool,  terpinen-4-oil, etc.
  • This colorful spice has many non-volatile active components; the most important of them is α-crocin, a carotenoid compound, which gives pistils their characteristic golden-yellow color. It also contains other carotenoids, including zea-xanthin, lycopene, α- and β-carotenes. These are important antioxidants that help protect the human body from oxidant-induced stress, cancers, infections and acts as immune modulators.
  • The active components in saffron have many therapeutic applications in many traditional medicines as antiseptic, antidepressant, anti-oxidant, digestive, anti-convulsant.
  • This novel spice is a good source of minerals like copper, potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, selenium, zinc and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese and copper are used by the body as co-factors for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Iron is essential for red blood cell production and as a co-factor for cytochrome oxidases enzymes.
  • Additionally, it is also rich in many vital vitamins, including vitamin A, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin,vitamin-C that is essential for optimum health.

 

Medicinal uses

  • The active components present in saffron have many therapeutic applications in many traditional medicines since long time as anti-spasmodic, carminative, diaphoretic.
  • Research studies have shown that, safranal, a volatile oil found in the spice, has antioxidant, cytotoxic effect on cancer cells, anticonvulsant and antidepressant properties.
  • Αlfa-crocin, a carotenoid compound, which gives the spice its characteristic golden-yellow hue, has beenfound to have anti-oxidant, anti-depressant, and anti-cancer properties.