Saffron is one of the highly prized spices known since antiquity for its color, flavor and medicinal properties. It is the dried "stigma" or threads of the flower of the S. crocus plant. The plant is a bulbous perennial plant that belongs to the family of Iridaceae of the genus, Crocus and known botanically as Crocus sativus. This exotic spice is a native of Southern Europe and now cultivated worldwide in many countries, particularly in Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, and Iran and in Jammu & Kashmir state of India. Saffron has the distinct flavor because of the chemical components in it picrocrocin, and safranal. It also contains a natural carotenoid chemical compound, crocin, which gives saffron its golden-yellow hue. These traits along with its medicinal properties make it a valuable ingredient in many foods worldwide. Health Benefits of Saffron
Saffron contains many plants derived chemical compounds that are known to have been anti-oxidant, disease preventing and health promoting properties.
The flower stigma are composed of many essential volatile oils but the most important being safranal, which gives saffron its distinct hay-like flavor. Other volatile oils in saffron are cineole, phenethenol, pinene, borneol, geraniol, limonene, p-cymene, linalool, terpinen-4-oil, etc.
This colorful spice has many non-volatile active components; the most important of them is -crocin, a carotenoid compound, which gives the stigmas their characteristic golden-yellow color. It also contains other carotenoids, including zea-xanthin, lycopene, - and -carotenes. These are important antioxidants that help protect the human body from oxidant-induced stress, cancers, infections and acts as immune modulators.
The active components in saffron have many therapeutic applications in many traditional medicines as antiseptic, antidepressant, anti-oxidant, digestive, anti-convulsant.
This novel spice is a good source of minerals like copper, potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, selenium, zinc and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese and copper are used by the body as co-factors for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Iron is essential for red blood cell production and as a co-factor for cytochrome oxidasesenzymes.
Additionally, it is also rich in many vital vitamins, including vitamin a, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin-cthat is essential for optimum health.
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Binu Perumannil (Kerala Spices Trading Co.)
332-D, Pocket - II, DDA Flats, Mayur Vihar, Phase - I,, Delhi - 110091, India
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