Researchers discuss how to create biofactories of saffron, a rare dye native to South America

2023-07-28 15:02:18

MADRID, 28 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

A research team involving several centers of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil have studied how the plant ‘Scobecia grandiflora’popularly called ‘root saffron’, produces the red dye (saffron) that accumulates in its roots by parasitizing other plants and which gives it its commercial value, as reported by the CSIC in a statement.

The study, published in the journal ‘Plants People Planet’has analyzed the genes involved in the production of saffron in this plant, the first step for its use in other easier-to-grow plants or to optimize the cultivation of ‘Escobecia grandiflora’.

Saffron is a red pigment derived from carotenoids, vitamin A precursor substances that animals cannot produce.. Likewise, carotenoids are natural pigments found in plants, algae, fungi and bacteria, and are responsible for providing color to many fruits and vegetables, such as carrots.

For its part, root saffron is a parasitic plant native to South America that has traditionally been used to provide red pigmentation to foods in the Andean regions. In addition to its use as a food coloring, root saffron has multiple healthy properties and has been used against jaundice, hepatitis and liver diseases.

However, the CSIC has indicated that its use is increasingly restricted due, among other reasons, to a dwindling distribution due to loss of habitat and the difficulties represented by its domestication and cultivation. “The work was carried out to study how this plant produces the red compound that gives it its commercial and medicinal value.“, the center has pointed out.

“Our work has shown that the red pigment that accumulates in the root of Escobedia grandiflora is saffron, a water-soluble derivative of carotenoids.“, has revealed the CSIC researcher at the Institute of Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMCP-CSIC-UPV) and coordinator of the study, Manuel Rodríguez Concepción.

“We have also analyzed which genes are involved in the production of saffron from the carotenoids in root saffron, leading to the identification of candidates in the key stages of the synthesis. Finally, we have studied how the parasitic plant adheres to the root of the host plant, a previous and necessary step for the production of saffron“, Rodriguez enumerated.

The researcher has also indicated that “an alternative to the domestication and cultivation of ‘Escobedia grandiflora’ would be the use of other easily cultivable plants such as saffron biofactories. To do so, the genes identified in the work could be cloned and transferred to species such as carrotswhich accumulates enormous amounts of the carotenoid precursors of saffron in its root.”