Worldwide, lung cancer is the most common form of cancer. Saffron has been used in folk medicine for centuries. We investigated the potential of saffron to induce cytotoxic and apoptotic effects in lung cancer cells (A549). We also examined the caspase-dependent pathways activation of saffron-induced apoptosis against the A549 cells. A549 cells were incubated with different concentrations of sa...

OBJECTIVES Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of spinal cord is leading to the paraplegia observed. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of the saffron extract on spinal cord I/R injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty five male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups: intact, sham surgery, normal saline (NS), low dose saffron aqua extract, high dose saffron aqua extract. ...

More and more saffron has been cultivated in China because of the increasing saffron demand, but no paper has studied the influence of drying methods on the quality of Chinese saffron. In this paper, three different dehydration treatments applied in actual production were evaluated: dehydration with electric oven, vacuum oven, and microwave. We determined that the highest quality of saffron wil...

The objective of the present study is to investigate the effects of irrigation water salinity,cow manure levels and different planting methods on saffron quality compounds includingcrocin (coloring strength), picrocrocin (bitterness) and safranal (aromatic strength). A split-splitplot arrangement was conducted in complete randomized block design with irrigation watersalinity levels (0.45 (fresh...

BACKGROUND Crocus sativus, known as saffron crocus, is best known for the spice saffron. Saffron use spans more than 3500 years, however, its toxicity on neonates during lactation has not yet evaluated. OBJECTIVES This study was aimed to examine the acute toxicity of saffron on adult mice and its nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity on neonates of lactating mothers that used saffron during lacta...

Saffron is grown in arid and semi-arid regions in Iran in late autumn, winter and late spring with rainy season. It should be irrigated by supplemental basin irrigation. Since rainfall is usually delayed in autumn, therefore, a pre-flowering irrigation of about 100 mm is needed. In areas with a seasonal rainfall of 600 mm a post- flowering irrigation of about 50 mm is adequate for economical yi...

The accumulation of three major carotenoid derivatives-crocetin glycosides, picrocrocin, and safranal-is in large part responsible for the color, bitter taste, and aroma of saffron, which is obtained from the dried styles of Crocus. We have identified and functionally characterized the Crocus zeaxanthin 7,8(7',8')-cleavage dioxygenase gene (CsZCD), which codes for a chromoplast enzyme that init...

We recently identified saffron cod Eleginus gracilis as a dominant fish species in nearshore habitats (<5 m deep, <20 m offshore) of western Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, USA. Saffron cod have not been previously reported in PWS, and their capture suggests that fish community structure has changed in nearshore habitats. Nearly 16 000 saffron cod were captured in 49 of 95 beach seine hauls...

From ancient times, saffron dried stigmas of Crocus sativus L. is widely used as a drug against different human diseases. In the beginning of 1990 ́s scientific literature reported for the first time the antitumor activity of saffron. During the last decade different laboratories of the world (including ours) have accumulated sufficient scientific evidence to suggest that saffron, and its main i...