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Journal of Dietary Supplements Volume 8, 2011 - Issue 1
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Research Article

An Evidence-Based Systematic Review of Saffron (Crocus sativus) by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration

Catherine UlbrichtMassachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
,
Julie ConquerRGB Consulting, London, Ontario, Canada
,
Dawn CostaPrivate Practice
,
Whitney HollandsUniversity of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
,
Carmen IannuzziNortheastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
,
Richard IsaacPrivate Practice
,
Joseph K. JordanDepartment of Pharmacy, Clarian Health Partners/Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
,
Natalie LedesmaUniversity of California, San Francisco, California, USA
,
Cathy OstroffPrivate Practice
,
Jill M. Grimes SerranoPrivate Practice
,
Michael D. ShafferUniversity of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
&
Minney VargheseNortheastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
 show all
Pages 58-114 | Published online: 21 Feb 2011

Citations (52)

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Syed Muzaffar, Sajad A. Rather & Khaliquz Zaman Khan. (2016) In vitro bactericidal and fungicidal activities of various extracts of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) stigmas from Jammu & Kashmir, India. Cogent Food & Agriculture 2:1.
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Articles from other publishers (51)

Charles Spence. (2023) Saffron: The colourful spice. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, pages 100821.
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Renata Matraszek-Gawron, Mirosława Chwil, Karol Terlecki & Michał Marian Skoczylas. (2022) Current Knowledge of the Antidepressant Activity of Chemical Compounds from Crocus sativus L.. Pharmaceuticals 16:1, pages 58.
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Abdul Walusansa, Savina Asiimwe, Jesca. L. Nakavuma, Jamilu. E. Ssenku, Esther Katuura, Hussein. M. Kafeero, Dickson Aruhomukama, Alice Nabatanzi, Godwin Anywar, Arthur K. Tugume & Esezah K. Kakudidi. (2022) Antibiotic-resistance in medically important bacteria isolated from commercial herbal medicines in Africa from 2000 to 2021: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control 11:1.
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Umer Majeed Wani, Zubair Ahmad Wani, Aabid M. Koul, Asif Amin, Basit Amin Shah, Faizah Farooq & Raies A. Qadri. (2022) Isolation of high-quality RNA for high throughput applications from secondary metabolite-rich Crocus sativus L.. BMC Research Notes 15:1.
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Yousef Rasmi, Elihud Salazar, Ena Gupta, Behrokh Daei‐Hasani & Martín Calderón‐Juárez. 2022. Molecular Mechanisms of Functional Food. Molecular Mechanisms of Functional Food 453 484 .
Inés Moragrega & José Luis Ríos. (2021) Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Depression. II: Evidence from Clinical Trials. Planta Medica 88:12, pages 1092-1110.
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Kobra S. Rizi, Majid Rezayi, Ehsan Aryan, Zahra Meshkat & Majid G. Mobarhan. 2022. Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology in Medicine. Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology in Medicine 185 223 .
Kiran Shahbaz, Dennis Chang, Xian Zhou, Mitchell Low, Sai Wang Seto & Chung Guang Li. (2022) Crocins for Ischemic Stroke: A Review of Current Evidence. Frontiers in Pharmacology 13.
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Rayees Ahmad Bakshi, Navdeep Singh Sodhi, Idrees Ahmed Wani, Zakir Showkat Khan, Bhavnita Dhillon & Adil Gani. (2022) Bioactive constituents of saffron plant: Extraction, encapsulation and their food and pharmaceutical applications. Applied Food Research 2:1, pages 100076.
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Yanfei He, Xiaoying Hu, Huifang Zhang, Xiangfeng Chen & Hongxiang Sun. (2022) Adjuvant effect of two polysaccharides from the petals of Crocus sativus and its mechanisms. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 204, pages 50-61.
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Oussama Ahrazem, Gianfranco Diretto, José Luis Rambla, Ángela Rubio-Moraga, María Lobato-Gómez, Sarah Frusciante, Javier Argandoña, Silvia Presa, Antonio Granell & Lourdes Gómez-Gómez. (2022) Engineering high levels of saffron apocarotenoids in tomato. Horticulture Research 9.
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Abdul Walusansa, Savina Asiimwe, Hussein. M. Kafeero, Iramiot. J. Stanley, Jamilu. E. Ssenku, Jesca. L. Nakavuma & Esezah. K. Kakudidi. (2021) Prevalence and dynamics of clinically significant bacterial contaminants in herbal medicines sold in East Africa from 2000 to 2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Tropical Medicine and Health 49:1.
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Alexios-Fotios A. Mentis, Maria Dalamaga, Cuncun Lu & Moschos G. Polissiou. (2021) Saffron for “toning down” COVID-19-related cytokine storm: Hype or hope? A mini-review of current evidence. Metabolism Open 11, pages 100111.
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Yanfei He, Haoxuan Peng, Huifang Zhang, Yaqin Liu & Hongxiang Sun. (2021) Structural characteristics and immunopotentiation activity of two polysaccharides from the petal of Crocus sativus. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 180, pages 129-142.
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I. Adamska & P. Biernacka. (2021) Bioactive Substances in Safflower Flowers and Their Applicability in Medicine and Health-Promoting Foods. International Journal of Food Science 2021, pages 1-23.
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Arun Lal Srivastav & Ashok Kumar. (2021) An endeavor to achieve sustainable development goals through floral waste management: A short review. Journal of Cleaner Production 283, pages 124669.
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M. Valle García-Rodríguez, Natalia Moratalla-López, Claudia Carrión, Horacio López-Córcoles & Gonzalo L. Alonso. (2020) The Combined Effects of Vegetative Stage Corms, Ultra Low Oxygen Cooling Storage and Incubation Time on Crocus sativus L.. Agronomy 10:11, pages 1775.
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Elena Jiménez-Ortega, Aitana Braza-Boïls, Miguel Burgos, Natalia Moratalla-López, Manuel Vicente, Gonzalo L. Alonso, Eduardo Nava & Sílvia Llorens. (2020) Crocetin Isolated from the Natural Food Colorant Saffron Reduces Intracellular Fat in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes. Foods 9:11, pages 1648.
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M. José Bagur, Gonzalo L. Alonso Salinas, Antonia M. Jiménez-Monreal, Gemma Serrano-Heras, Magdalena Martínez-Tomé.Gonzalo L. Alonso. (2020) Effect of Daily Intake of a Saffron Infusion on Blood Cholesterol Levels. Applied Sciences 10:14, pages 4763.
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Seyed Ahmad Mohajeri, Samaneh Sepahi & Adel Ghorani Azam. 2020. Saffron. Saffron 431 444 .
Elnaz Milani. 2020. Saffron. Saffron 307 320 .
Seid-Mahdi Jafari, Maria Z. Tsimidou, Hamid Rajabi & Anastasia Kyriakoudi. 2020. Saffron. Saffron 261 290 .
Si Mohamed Jadouali, Hajar Atifi, Rachid Mamouni, Khalid Majourhat, Zakia Bouzoubaâ, Abdelatif Laknifli & Abdellah Faouzi. (2019) Chemical characterization and antioxidant compounds of flower parts of Moroccan crocus sativus L.. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences 18:4, pages 476-480.
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Moratalla-López, Bagur, Lorenzo, Salinas & Alonso. (2019) Bioactivity and Bioavailability of the Major Metabolites of Crocus sativus L. Flower. Molecules 24:15, pages 2827.
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Anyun Zhu, Chuyu Lao, Ze Wang, Yang Chen & Chuan Bai. (2019) Characterization of Crocetin‐Monoglucuronide as a Neuron‐Protective Metabolite of Crocin‐1. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 63:13.
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Samad Ghaffari & Neda Roshanravan. (2019) Saffron; An updated review on biological properties with special focus on cardiovascular effects. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy 109, pages 21-27.
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Nordiyanah Anuar, Rosna Mat Taha, Noraini Mahmad & Rashidi Othman. (2018) Identification of crocin, crocetin and zeaxanthin in Crocus sativus grown under controlled environment in Malaysia . Pigment & Resin Technology 47:6, pages 502-506.
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Estela Sena-Moreno, Manuel Alvarez-Ortí, Jéssica Serrano-Díaz, José Emilio Pardo, Manuel Carmona & Gonzalo L. Alonso. (2018) Olive oil aromatization with saffron by liquid–liquid extraction. Journal of Food Science and Technology 55:3, pages 1093-1103.
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John D. Kakisis. (2018) Saffron: From Greek mythology to contemporary anti-atherosclerotic medicine. Atherosclerosis 268, pages 193-195.
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María José Bagur, Gonzalo Alonso Salinas, Antonia Jiménez-Monreal, Soukaina Chaouqi, Silvia Llorens, Magdalena Martínez-Tomé & Gonzalo Alonso. (2017) Saffron: An Old Medicinal Plant and a Potential Novel Functional Food. Molecules 23:1, pages 30.
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S.M. Jadouali, Z. Bouzoubaâ, K. Majourhat, R. Mamouni, S. Gharby & H. Atifi. (2017) Polyphenols content, flavonoids and antioxidant activity of petals, stamens, styles and whole flower of Crocus sativus of Taliouine . Acta Horticulturae:1184, pages 301-308.
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Syed Muzaffar, Sajad A. Rather, Khaliquz Zaman Khan & Rehana Akhter. (2015) Nutritional composition and in-vitro antioxidant properties of two cultivars of Indian saffron. Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization 10:1, pages 185-192.
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Andreas Chrysanthou, Evangelia Pouliou, Anastasia Kyriakoudi & Maria Z. Tsimidou. (2016) Sensory Threshold Studies of Picrocrocin, the Major Bitter Compound of Saffron. Journal of Food Science 81:1, pages S189-S198.
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Nafees Ahmed, Sirajudheen Anwar, Saeed S. Al-Sokari, Shabana Y. Ansari & Mohamed E. Wagih. 2016. Essential Oils in Food Preservation, Flavor and Safety. Essential Oils in Food Preservation, Flavor and Safety 705 713 .
Anastasia Kyriakoudi & Maria Z. Tsimidou. (2015) A Food-Grade Approach to Isolate Crocetin from Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Extracts. Food Analytical Methods 8:9, pages 2261-2272.
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Heather Ann Hausenblas, Kacey Heekin, Heather Lee Mutchie & Stephen Anton. (2015) A systematic review of randomized controlled trials examining the effectiveness of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) on psychological and behavioral outcomes. Journal of Integrative Medicine 13:4, pages 231-240.
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Marjan Nassiri-Asl & Hossein Hosseinzadeh. 2015. Bioactive Nutraceuticals and Dietary Supplements in Neurological and Brain Disease. Bioactive Nutraceuticals and Dietary Supplements in Neurological and Brain Disease 29 39 .
Magdalena Rafecas, Laura-Isabel Arranz, Mireia García, Miguel-Ángel Canela & DIECA Group. (2014) Improvement of Weight and Body Composition in a Group of Women through a Weight Management Program Using Food Supplements with or without a Hypocaloric Diet. Journal of Pharmacy and Nutrition Sciences 4:4, pages 238-245.
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Mehdi Farokhnia, Mehdi Shafiee Sabet, Negar Iranpour, Amirhossein Gougol, Habibeh Yekehtaz, Roozbeh Alimardani, Farzaneh Farsad, Maryam Kamalipour & Shahin Akhondzadeh. (2014) Comparing the efficacy and safety of Crocus sativus L. with memantine in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease: a double-blind randomized clinical trial . Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental 29:4, pages 351-359.
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Magdalena Rafecas, Laura-Isabel Arranz, Mireia García, Miguel-Ángel Canela & DIECA group. (2014) Anthropometric Characteristics and other Dietary Aspects of a Group of Spanish Women Looking for Weight Loss and Enrolled in a Weight Management Program. Journal of Pharmacy and Nutrition Sciences 4:3, pages 177-182.
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Jéssica Serrano-Díaz, Ana M. Sánchez, Magdalena Martínez-Tomé, Peter Winterhalter & Gonzalo L. Alonso. (2014) Flavonoid Determination in the Quality Control of Floral Bioresidues from Crocus sativus L. . Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 62:14, pages 3125-3133.
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Nazila Shahmansouri, Mehdi Farokhnia, Seyed-Hesammeddin Abbasi, Seyed Ebrahim Kassaian, Ahmad-Ali Noorbala Tafti, Amirhossein Gougol, Habibeh Yekehtaz, Saeedeh Forghani, Mehran Mahmoodian, Sepideh Saroukhani, Akram Arjmandi-Beglar & Shahin Akhondzadeh. (2014) A randomized, double-blind, clinical trial comparing the efficacy and safety of Crocus sativus L. with fluoxetine for improving mild to moderate depression in post percutaneous coronary intervention patients. Journal of Affective Disorders 155, pages 216-222.
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Claudio Festuccia, Andrea Mancini, Giovanni Luca Gravina, Luca Scarsella, Silvia Llorens, Gonzalo L. Alonso, Carla Tatone, Ernesto Di Cesare, Emmanuele A. Jannini, Andrea Lenzi, Anna M. D’Alessandro & Manuel Carmona. (2014) Antitumor Effects of Saffron-Derived Carotenoids in Prostate Cancer Cell Models. BioMed Research International 2014, pages 1-12.
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Heather Ann Hausenblas, Debbie Saha, Pamela Jean Dubyak & Stephen Douglas Anton. (2013) Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and major depressive disorder: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Journal of Integrative Medicine 11:6, pages 377-383.
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Jéssica Serrano-Díaz, Ana M. Sánchez, Magdalena Martínez-Tomé, Peter Winterhalter & Gonzalo L. Alonso. (2013) A contribution to nutritional studies on Crocus sativus flowers and their value as food. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 31:1, pages 101-108.
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Anastasia Kyriakoudi, Maria Z. Tsimidou, Yvonne C. O’Callaghan, Karen Galvin & Nora M. O’Brien. (2013) Changes in Total and Individual Crocetin Esters upon in Vitro Gastrointestinal Digestion of Saffron Aqueous Extracts. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 61:22, pages 5318-5327.
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Paul Posadzki, Leala Watson & Edzard Ernst. (2013) Herb-drug interactions: an overview of systematic reviews. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 75:3, pages 603-618.
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Paul Posadzki, Leala Watson & Edzard Ernst. (2012) Contamination and adulteration of herbal medicinal products (HMPs): an overview of systematic reviews. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 69:3, pages 295-307.
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Paul Posadzki, Leala K Watson & Edzard Ernst. (2013) Adverse effects of herbal medicines: an overview of systematic reviews. Clinical Medicine 13:1, pages 7-12.
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Ana M. Sánchez & Peter Winterhalter. 2013. Carotenoid Cleavage Products. Carotenoid Cleavage Products 45 63 .
Jéssica Serrano‐Díaz, Ana M. Sánchez, Luana Maggi, Magdalena Martínez‐Tomé, Luis García‐Diz, M. Antonia Murcia & Gonzalo L. Alonso. (2012) Increasing the Applications of Crocus sativus Flowers as Natural Antioxidants . Journal of Food Science 77:11.
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