The “red gold” is the medicinal plant of the year 2024. Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) has an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect, the Herbal Medicinal Products Platform Austria (HMPPA) justified the choice. It is also said to protect the nerves. Clinical data is also available for ED, PMS, AMD and diabetes. And other surprising effects can be seen in the animal model.
One of the criteria for the choice is always new indication areas, emphasizes HMPPA President Univ.-Prof. iR Mag. Dr. Hermann Stuppner, Institute for Pharmacy/Pharmacognosy, University of Innsbruck, Center for Chemistry and Biomedicine. The hand-picked stamp threads could still be astonishing, as it turned out when the “Medicinal Plant of the Year 2024” was presented.
The connection to Austria, another criterion, is also there: saffron was already cultivated in this country in the Middle Ages, namely in eastern Austria or in the Vienna area, found HMPPA Vice President Emeritus. o. Univ.-Prof. DI Dr. Chlodwig Franz, AG Functional Plant Substances, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. Saffron originally comes from Attica, Greece, Franz continues. This was only able to be proven genetically a few years ago (Nemati et al., 2019).
The bulbous plant from the iris family or Iridaceae is triploid. This means, explains the medicinal and spice plant specialist, that they cannot reproduce via seeds, but only vegetatively via daughter tubers. Saffron blooms mainly in spring, but sometimes also in autumn. However, there is no risk of confusion with the poisonous autumn crocus. Because saffron “does not grow wild” and only occurs in cultivation.
Today the most important growing areas are Iran (over 90% of global production), Turkey, Greece, southern Italy and southern Spain – and small production areas in many Central European countries, among others. This also includes Austria with cultures primarily in the Wachau, the Weinviertel, the Pannonian region and the Styrian volcanic region. The harvest is complex: the three so-called “scar legs” have to be plucked from the flowers “directly in the field”. Or, the second option: harvest the whole flowers, bring them under cover and get the stigmas while they are still fresh and not wilted. The red threads are then carefully dried. For 1kg of drug you need around 150,000-200,000 flowers, which corresponds to around 1ha of cultivated area. Franz puts the world market for the “most expensive spice” or “red gold” at around 300-350 tons annually. For comparison: Austria produces less than 5kg/year.
Saffron was previously referred to as “opium for children,” says HMPPA Vice President Univ.-Prof. Dr. GDR. hc Rudolf Bauer, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Karl-Franzens-University Graz, discussed the most important substances – Crocine, Picrocrocin and Safranal. Crocetin is probably responsible for the mood-enhancing effect. This occurs when the sugars are split off from the crocins (water-soluble carotenoid glycosides).
The crocines are also responsible for the yellow color of the saffron, says Bauer, recalling the passage “Saffron makes the cake yummy” in the old “Bake, bake cake” children’s song. Prominent dishes with saffron include Spanish paella and the Swedish saffron pastry Lussekatter. The volatile essential oil is responsible for the characteristic smell of saffron – with more than 150 different aromatics and safranal as the main component.
Safranal is only formed when saffron is dried from the bitter-tasting picrocrocin, a breakdown product of the “mother substance” zeaxanthin. Because it is expensive to produce, saffron is often adulterated, reports Bauer. As examples he cites “safflower”, safflower, red sandalwood and goldenseal (Curcuma longa L.), also known as “Indian saffron”. Bauer warns that cane sugar, glycerol, brick dust or barium sulfate are sometimes used to weigh things down.
To protect against adulteration, there is an ISO standard that divides saffron into 4 categories based on the crocin, picrocrocin and safranal content: Super Negin (highest quality), Sargol, Pusahl, Bunch. According to Bauer, high-quality saffron can contain up to 30% crocin, 15% picrocrocin and more than 0.5% essential oil. For medicinal use, the quality of saffron (Croci stigma) is also defined in the Austrian Pharmacopoeia (ÖAB), with a minimum content of 5% total croci.
However, there are no approved or registered saffron medicines for clinical practice, regrets Prof. Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel, Institute for Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry, University of Münster. Only food is offered, which is why the basis of all scientific investigations is “ensuring proper quality”.
Hensel cites depression, neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, alcohol abuse, etc.), cancer, dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) as traditional areas of application. When saffron is administered orally, the glycosylated crocins-1 to -5 (hydrophilic) are broken down into crocetin (lipophilic) in the small intestinal tissue. “Crocetin crosses the blood-brain barrier and can enter the CNS,” reports Hensel.
According to Hensel, the influence of crocetin on central synaptic processes in the CNS is consistent with the binding of crocetin to the phencyclidine binding site of the NMDA receptor, an inhibition of NMDA-induced membrane depolarization and a pronounced interaction with the Sigma1 receptor. Regarding the clinical use of saffron for depression, there are a large number of randomized clinical studies (RCTs) that show the effectiveness and good tolerability of saffron (compared to placebo and antidepressants).
A targeted drug development with approval/registration of high-quality and controlled products should be aimed for, sums up Hensel.
HMPPA Vice President Assoc.-Prof. also takes note of the evidence on saffron research. Dr. Christian W. Gruber, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, takes a closer look. Accordingly, saffron has antioxidant activity through carotenoids and other compounds. Anti-inflammatory properties have also been observed. In particular, the active ingredients could interact with certain neurotransmitter systems and hormones or influence enzyme activity or cellular signaling pathways. Gruber divides the physiological effects of saffron into 6 areas:
As far as neuroprotective effects are concerned, saffron could potentially be helpful in preventing diseases such as Alzheimer’s dementia and Parkinson’s, Gruber also emphasizes. Clinical data are also available for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), metabolic and premenstrual syndrome, diabetes and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Recent research1 has also shown that saffron may also inhibit the growth of cancer cells and induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) in certain types of cancer. However, these are early experimental studies with cancer cells and often “only” with an isolated saffron ingredient, crocetin, Gruber informs medonline in response to a query. To his knowledge, there have only been animal model studies on tumors in the stomach2, liver and pancreas.
It is possible that the cell-protective effect – via the mechanisms explained above – has a positive influence on cancer prevention. “We lack the data to make a possible assessment of the therapeutic prospects of individual saffron ingredients based on their apoptosis-inducing properties,” restricts Gruber. Many more cell-based and diverse animal models would need to be examined for effectiveness. Gruber emphasizes that the oncological guidelines are currently relevant for cancer therapy, such as classic chemotherapy drugs, antibodies and signal interceptors.
Online press conference Medicinal Plant 2024, January 30, 2024