razi’s al-hawi and saffron (crocus sativus): a review

traditional knowledge can be used as a source for development of new medicines. in the present study, we compare the data on saffron in razi's al-hawi book with modern scientific studies. a computerized search of published articles was performed using medline, scopus as well as native references. the search terms used were saffron, crocus sativus, crocetin, crocin, safranal, razi, and al-hawi. a variety of properties of saffron including diuretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, appetite suppressant, hypnotic, antidepressant, and bronchodilator effects were mentioned in al-hawi. modern studies also confirmed most of these characteristics. this review indicates that the pharmacological data on saffron and its constituents are similar to those found in razi’s al-hawi monograph and it can be concluded that ethnobotanical information and ancient sources have precious data about medicinal plants that lead to finding new compounds for treatment of several diseases.