Saffron is one of the most beloved and prized spices of ancient civilisations, for its aroma, colour, medicinal and aphrodisiac properties, while many people consider it to be the best quality saffron in the world.
Cleopatra used it in her cosmetics, the ancient Phoenicians used it in their offerings to the goddess Astarte, Homer mentions it in his texts and it is even found in the Old Testament. However, the current cultivation of saffron in Greece, in the area of Kozani, was introduced from Austria in the 17th century. More specifically, it was imported by Kozani merchants who at that time maintained close trade relations with Austria.
The inhabitants of Kozani plant the saffron every summer and when autumn arrived they removed the precious flower spots by hand and carefully dried them to make the deep red thin threads. It takes about 50,000 spots to make 100 grams of red saffron. The concentration of the yolk product in the cooperative begins immediately after drying, sorting and cleaning the stigmas.
The Kozani Crocus Producers' Co-operative was established in 1971 and its members have the exclusive right to collect, package and distribute Kozani saffron.
The establishment of the cooperative created a body that has overall responsibility for the collection, processing, standardisation and distribution of the product, in order to ensure its quality and avoid the adulteration that used to be carried out in the past by the traders, resulting in the deterioration and negative image of the product.
The only crocus-growing area in our country is the area of Kozani, in some of its villages (Krokos, Ano Komi, Kato Komi, Karyditsa, Kozani, Agia Paraskevi, Aiani, Vathylakos, Kesaria, Petrana, Lefkopigi, etc.), where the plant has been systematically cultivated for many years.
Large quantities of Kozani saffron are traded in spotted saffron, which is packaged and marketed in small packages. The main countries that absorb exports of the product are Spain, Italy, France, the USA, Switzerland, England, Germany, the Scandinavian countries, the United Arab Emirates and Japan.
Miracle Mood and Sexual Lift Properties
The bitter taste and an iodoform or hay-like fragrance are caused by chemicals picrocrocin and safranal. C. sativus posseses a number of medicinally important activities such as antihypertensive, anticonvulsant, antitussive, antigenototoxic and cytotoxic effects, anxiolytic aphrodisiac, antioxidant, antidepressant, antinociceptive , anti-inflammatory, and relaxant activity. It also improves memory and learning skills, and increases blood flow in retina and choroid.
Effect on sexual behaviorThe aphrodisiac activities of C. sativus stigma aqueous extract and its constituents, safranal and crocin, were evaluated in male rats. The aqueous extract (80, 160, and 320 mg/kg body wt.), crocin (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body wt.), safranal (0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 ml/kg), sildenafil (60 mg/kg body wt., as a positive control), and saline were administered intraperitoneally to male rats. Mounting frequency (MF), mount latency (ML), intromission latency (IL), and ejaculation latency (EL) were the factors evaluated during the sexual behavior study. Crocin, at all doses, and the extract, especially at doses 160 and 320 mg/kg body wt., increased MF, IF, and EF behaviors and reduced EL, IL, and ML parameters. Safranal did not show aphrodisiac effects. This study exhibited an aphrodisiac activity of saffron aqueous extract and its constituent crocin.[28]
Anxiolytic activityThis study was designed to investigate in rodents whether or not crocins possess anxiolytic properties. For this aim, the light\dark test was selected. Either crocins, at a dose which did not influence animals’ motor activity (50 mg/kg), or diazepam (1.5 mg/kg), increased the latency to enter the dark compartment and prolonged the time spent in the lit chamber in the rats. Conversely, lower doses of crocins (15-30 mg/kg) did not substantially modify animals’ behavior. The present results indicate that treatment with these active constituents of C. sativus L. induces anxiolytic-like effects in the rat.[29]
Relaxant propertyTo study the mechanism(s) of the relaxant effects of C. sativus (Iridaceae), the stimulatory effect of aqueous-ethanolic extracts of this plant and one of its constituent, safranal, was examined on β-adrenoreceptors in tracheal chains of guinea pigs. The β2-adrenergic stimulatory was tested by performing the cumulative concentration-response curves of isoprenaline-induced relaxation of pre-contracted isolated guinea pig tracheal chains. The studied solutions included two concentrations of aqueous ethanolic extracts from C. sativus (0.1 and 0.2 g%), safranal (1.25 and 2.5 μg), 10 nM propranalol, and saline. The study was done in two different conditions including non-incubated (group 1, n = 9) and incubated tissues with 1 μM chlorpheniramine (group 2, n = 6). The results showed clear leftward shifts in isoprenaline curves obtained in the presence of only higher concentration of the extract in group 1 and its both concentrations in group 2 compared with that of saline. The EC50 (the effective concentration of isoprenaline, causing 50% of maximum response) obtained in the presence of both concentrations of the extract (0.17 ± 0.06 and 0.12 ± 0.02) and safranal (0.22 ± 0.05 and 0.22 ± 0.05) in group 1 and only in the presence of two concentrations of the extract (1.16 ± 0.31 and 0.68 ± 0.21) in group two was significantly lower compared to saline. The maximum responses obtained in the presence of both concentrations of the extract and safranal in group 1 were significantly lower than that of saline. The results indicated a relatively potent stimulatory effect of the extract from C. sativus on β2-adrenoreceptors, which is partially due to its constituent, safranal. A possible inhibitory effect of the plant on histamine (H1) receptors was also suggested.[30]
Effect on depressionThe efficacy of petal of C. sativus was assessed in the treatment of mild-to-moderate depression in a 6-week double-blind, placebo-controlled and randomized trial. Forty adult outpatients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders, fourth edition for major depression based on the structural clinical interview for DSM IV, participated in the trial. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled and randomized trial, patients were randomly assigned to receive capsule of petal of C. sativus30 mg/day (b.d.) (Group 1) and capsule of placebo (b.d.) (Group 2) for a 6-week study. At 6 weeks, petal of C. sativus produced a significantly better outcome on Hamilton Depression Rating Scale than placebo (d.f. = 1, F = 16.87, P<0.001). There were no significant differences in the two groups in terms of observed side-effects. The results of this study indicate the efficacy of petal of C. sativus in the treatment of mild-to-moderate depression.[31] In further preliminary work, saffron was compared to the drug fluoxetine; it was found that the saffron performed as well as the drug in the treatment of depression.[13] In addition, in a recent pre-clinical study, it has been reported that petal of C. sativus, the part of this herb that is very cheap compared to stigma of C. sativus (saffron), has antidepressant effect.[11]
Data is derived from a recent review which explored the historical background, chemical constituents, pharmacological actions, uses, substitutes and adulterants, and toxicity. It also deals with its evaluation, formulations, and chemical tests in detail.
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