Novel Extraction Techniques: An Effective Way to Retrieve the Bioactive Compounds from Saffron (Crocus Sativus)

ABSTRACT

Saffron is considered as most prominent food product used in medicine, flavouring and colouring substances due to its bioactive compounds that have health-boosting characteristics. Saffron has been cultivated to get flower and obtain metabolites from dried stigma. The main phytochemicals found in saffron are picrocrocin, safranal, kaempferol, phenol, flavonoid, delphinidin and crocetin which shows good bioactivity and antioxidant capacity. However, the quantity and quality of bioactive compounds vary with extraction techniques used. Extraction of bioactive compounds from saffron requires continued searching for extraction technique s that are ecologically and economically feasible. Conventional extraction methods are time-consuming and require a huge quantity of solvents. Therefore, novel extraction techniques have been developed to extract bioactive compounds from saffron, which can decrease the extraction time as well as solvent consumption to improve the extract quality and extraction yield. This review discusses the development of promising techniques for the extraction bioactive compounds from saffron, which could be utilized in the value-added products (food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries).

KEYWORDS:

• Saffron
• extraction techniques
• bioactive compounds
• conventional techniques
• novel techniques

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21576099) the S&T projects of Guangdong Province (2017B020207001 and 2015A030312001), as well as the 111 Project (B17018).