saffron crocus

Names

Common Names

• Saffron Crocus
• autumn crocus
• saffron

Regional and Traditional Names

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Crocus sativus subsp. orsinii
• Safran officinarum
• Geanthus autumnalis
• Crocus sativus var. orsinii
• Crocus setifolius
• Crocus officinalis
• Crocus orsinii
• Crocus sativus var. cashmerianus
• Crocus sativus var. officinalis
• Crocus pendulus

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and is classified under the phylum Streptophyta and the class Equisetopsida. Within the subclass Magnoliidae, it follows the order Asparagales and is a member of the family Iridaceae. Finally, its taxonomic identity is defined by the genus Crocus.

Distribution

This plant exhibits a diverse geographical distribution spanning several distinct regions across three continents. In Middle Europe, its presence can be noted within the territories of Czechia and Slovakia. Moving toward the Mediterranean, it is widely established in Southwestern Europe, specifically in Spain. The species also thrives in Southeastern Europe, with significant populations found in both Greece and Italy. Finally, its range extends into Northern Africa, where it is documented in Morocco.

Plant Parts

Chemicals

Crocus sativus has 193 reported phytochemicals identified across 4 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include Safranal, Crocetin, Crocin, Picrocrocin, Flavonoids.

Safranal

1. Dr. Duke
2. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
3. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Journal of ethnopharmacology
5. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Crocetin

1. Dr. Duke
2. Frontiers in pharmacology
3. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
5. BioFactors (Oxford, England)

Crocin

1. Dr. Duke
2. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology
3. Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands)
4. Journal of ethnopharmacology
5. International journal of molecular sciences

Picrocrocin

1. Dr. Duke
2. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
3. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
5. Food chemistry. Molecular sciences

Flavonoids

1. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
2. Journal of food biochemistry
3. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
4. Current pharmaceutical design
5. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Carotenoids

1. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
2. Current pharmaceutical design
3. Physiology and molecular biology of plants : an international journal of functional plant biology
4. Current medicinal chemistry
5. Journal of traditional and complementary medicine

Crocine

1. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
2. Briefings in functional genomics
3. Current microbiology
4. Cellular and molecular biology (Noisy-le-Grand, France)
5. Anticancer research

Saffron

1. Current neuropharmacology
2. Food science & nutrition
3. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP
4. Current drug discovery technologies
5. Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie

Zeaxanthin

1. Dr. Duke
2. Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands)
3. International journal of molecular sciences
4. BMC plant biology
5. Plant physiology

Anthocyanins

1. Scientific reports
2. Current pharmaceutical design
3. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Iranian journal of basic medical sciences
5. Food chemistry: X

Activities

Crocus sativus has 518 reported activities identified across 4 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antioxidant, Neuroprotective, Anticancer, Antidepressant, Cytotoxic.

Most Reported Activities

Medicinal Uses

Crocus sativus has 176 reported medicinal uses identified across 4 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported uses include depression, Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases.

Most Reported Uses

Preparations