Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in food. Although some doubts remain on its origin, it is believed that saffron originated in Iran. However, Greece and Mesopotamia have also been suggested as the possible region of origin of this plant. Saffron crocus slowly propagated throughout much of Eurasia and was later brought to parts of North Africa, North America, and Oceania.
Crocus is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain underground, that bear relatively large white, yellow, orange or purple flowers and then become dormant after flowering. Many are cultivated for their flowers, appearing in autumn, winter, or spring. The flowers close at night and in overcast weather conditions. The crocus has been known throughout recorded history, mainly as the source of saffron. Saffron is obtained from the dried stigma of Crocus sativus, an autumn-blooming species. It is valued as a spice and dyestuff, and is one of the most expensive spices in the world. Iran is the center of saffron production. Crocuses are native to woodland, scrub, and meadows from sea level to alpine tundra from the Mediterranean, through North Africa, central and southern Europe, the islands of the Aegean, the Middle East and across Central Asia to Xinjiang in western China. Crocuses may be propagated from seed or from daughter cormels formed on the corm, that eventually produce mature plants. They arrived in Europe from Turkey in the 16th century and became valued as an ornamental flowering plant.
Naringenin is a flavorless, colorless flavanone, a type of flavonoid. It is the predominant flavanone in grapefruit, and is found in a variety of fruits and herbs.
Crocus sativus, commonly known as saffron crocus or autumn crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the iris family Iridaceae. A cormous autumn-flowering cultivated perennial, unknown in the wild, it is best known for the culinary use of its floral stigmas as the spice saffron. Human cultivation of saffron crocus and the trade and use of saffron have endured for more than 3,500 years and span different cultures, continents, and civilizations.
Picrocrocin is a monoterpene glycoside precursor of safranal. It is found in the spice saffron, which comes from the crocus flower. Picrocrocin has a bitter taste, and is the chemical most responsible for the taste of saffron.
Crocus cartwrightianus is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, native to mainland Greece and Crete. It is a cormous perennial growing to 5 cm (2 in). The flowers, in shades of lilac or white with purple veins and prominent red stigmas, appear with the leaves in autumn and winter.
Human cultivation and use of saffron spans more than 3,500 years and extends across cultures, continents, and civilizations. Saffron, a spice derived from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus, has through history remained among the world's most costly substances. With its bitter taste, hay-like fragrance, and slight metallic notes, the apocarotenoid-rich saffron has been used as a seasoning, fragrance, dye, and medicine.
Crocin is a carotenoid chemical compound that is found in the flowers of crocus and gardenia. Its oxygen content also chemically makes it a xanthene. Crocin is the chemical primarily responsible for the color of saffron.
Crocetin is a natural apocarotenoid dicarboxylic acid that is found in the crocus flower together with its glycoside, crocin, and Gardenia jasminoides fruits. It is also known as crocetic acid. It forms brick red crystals with a melting point of 285°C.
β-Pinene is a monoterpene, an organic compound found in plants. It is one of the two isomers of pinene, the other being α-pinene. It is colorless liquid soluble in alcohol, but not water. It has a woody-green pine-like smell.
Siramesine is a sigma receptor agonist, selective for the σ2 subtype. In animal studies, siramesine has been shown to produce anxiolytic and antidepressant effects. It was developed by the pharmaceutical company H Lundbeck for the treatment of anxiety, although development was discontinued after clinical trials showed a lack of efficacy in humans. Siramesine has been shown to produce an enhanced antidepressant effect when co-administered with NMDA antagonists. It has also been used to study the σ2 activity of cocaine, and has been shown to produce anticancer properties both in vitro and in vivo.
Protein CIP2A also known as cancerous inhibitor of PP2A (CIP2A) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the KIAA1524 gene.
Demecolcine is a drug used in chemotherapy. It is closely related to the natural alkaloid colchicine with the replacement of the acetyl group on the amino moiety with methyl, but it is less toxic. It depolymerises microtubules and limits microtubule formation, thus arresting cells in metaphase and allowing cell harvest and karyotyping to be performed.
In pharmacology, a GABA transaminase inhibitor is an enzyme inhibitor that acts upon GABA transaminase. Inhibition of GABA transaminase enzymes reduces the degradation of GABA, leading to increased neuronal GABA concentrations.
Wogonin is an O-methylated flavone, a flavonoid-like chemical compound which is found in Scutellaria baicalensis.
Amentoflavone is a biflavonoid constituent of a number of plants including Ginkgo biloba, Chamaecyparis obtusa (hinoki), Biophytum sensitivum, Selaginella tamariscina, Hypericum perforatum and Xerophyta plicata.
Pyr1 (LIMINIB) is an organic compound composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen that inhibits the enzyme LIM kinase.
Crocetin glucosyltransferase is an enzyme with systematic name UDP-glucose:crocetin 8-O-D-glucosyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
Cumin is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the Irano-Turanian Region. Its seeds – each one contained within a fruit, which is dried – are used in the cuisines of many cultures in both whole and ground form. Although cumin is used in traditional medicine, there is no high-quality evidence that it is safe or effective as a therapeutic agent.
Saffron is one of the world's most expensive spices by weight due to its difficulty to harvest. Saffron consists of stigmas plucked from the vegetatively propagated and sterile Crocus sativus, known popularly as the saffron crocus. The resulting dried "threads" are distinguished by their bitter taste, hay-like fragrance, and slight metallic notes. The saffron crocus is unknown in the wild; its most likely precursor, Crocus cartwrightianus, originated in Crete or Central Asia; The saffron crocus is native to Southwest Asia, and is believed to have been first cultivated in Iran. Greece, Turkey, and Kashmir (India) have also been suggested as possible sites of origin.
"Saffron, for example, was once less regarded than it is today because the crocus from which it is extracted was not particularly mysterious. It flourished in European locations extending from Asia Minor, where it originated, to Saffron Walden in England, where it was naturalised. Only subsequently, when its labour-intensive cultivation became largely centred in Kashmir (India), did it seem sufficiently exotic to qualify as one of the most precious of spices."
