The primary goal of this study was to propose saffron as a sustainable substitute crop with high added value in some Moroccan agricultural areas with low and erratic rainfalls, for their socio-economical development. The quality of the saffron spice has to be evaluated prior to recommendation for commercial production. For this purpose, saffron was grown in experimental plots for the first time...

Saffron (Croucus sativus L) has been used traditionally as a spice for flavoring and coloring preparations. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of saffron on some neurotransmitter content in the different brain regions, i.e. cerebellum, brainstem, striatum, cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and hippocampus. The daily (i.p.) administration of saffron extract (60mg/kg) for four wee...

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. ...

We investigated effects of high doses of Jujube fruits and Saffron petals on biochemical and hematological biomarkers in rats. During 14 days treatment of herbs, mortality was not observed. No difference reported in FBS, lipid profile, total protein, albumin, total bilirubin and hematological parameters of rats after treatments. BUN, cratinine, urate and liver enzymes levels in both extracts in...

Since cancer is the most common cause of death in the world population, the possibility that readily available natural substances from plants, vegetables, herbs, and spices may be beneficial in the prevention of cancer warrants closer examination. Saffron in filaments is the dried, dark red stigmata of Crocus sativus L. flowers and it is used as a spice, food colorant, and a drug in medicine. A...

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is one of the world’s most valuable condiments, whose dried stigmas have been used since antiquity for culinary and medicinal purposes. The ethnobotanical data reveal that the plant and stigma extracts have many medicinal properties. On the basis of ethnobotanical data, lots of research has been done to determine the nutraceutical potential of saffron. The studies re...

The separation possibility of stigma from the other parts of saffron flower using its aerodynamic properties was investigated and a vertical air column was designed on the basis of the obtained results. Terminal velocities of three parts of saffron flower, including petal, stigma and anther within four days after harvest were studied. Significant difference between terminal velocity of stigma (...

Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) is now generally perceived to be the dominant operating system in conventional medicine. It is unsurprising then that some have counseled complementary and alternative medicine practitioners to resist EBM . The efficacy of medicinal herbs does need to be established and toxicity, contraindications and side effects also need to be investigated, and this is best done...

Using a subtractive hybridization approach, differentially expressed genes involved in the light response in saffron stigmas were identified. Twenty-two differentially expressed transcript-derived fragments were cloned and sequenced. Two of them were highly induced by light and had sequence similarity to early inducible proteins (ELIP) and SOUL heme-binding proteins. Using these sequences, we s...

Considering the global popularity and also the various biological and medicinal properties of saffron, this study was conducted to assess the influence of its aqueous extracts administration on blood pressure, pressure-rate product (PRP) and electrocardiogram (ECG) indices of rat. Animals were divided to control (CTL), SAF50, SAF100, and SAF200 groups that orally received tap water, aqueous ext...