CHAPTER 24: Saffron (Crocus sativus var. kashmiriana)

Saffron is a spice prized for its vibrant deep orange colour (provided by carotene pigments). Saffron is the most expensive of spices; it comes in the form of dried red filaments of Crocus sativus L. flowers. It is also cultivated as a dye, perfume and cosmetics ingredient, for medicine, and is used widely as a food additive because of its colour and flavour (taste and aroma). A significant body of research, primarily from the Middle East, Asia and also Southern Europe provides evidence of saffron's wide range of bioactive properties. These include its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, glucose lowering, anti-diabetic, lipid lowering and neuroprotective/neurological properties, all of which form the basis for a number of detailed reviews on its preventive and/or therapeutic potential for chronic communicable diseases including type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, certain cancers, depression and macular degeneration. Evidence also points to the use of this spice in the management of obesity, behaviour and mood, and the treatment of sexual and menstrual disorders.