From ancient times, saffron dried stigmas of Crocus sativus L. is widely used as a drug against different human diseases. In the beginning of 1990 ́s scientific literature reported for the first time the antitumor activity of saffron. During the last decade different laboratories of the world (including ours) have accumulated sufficient scientific evidence to suggest that saffron, and its main i...

Among the different species of Crocus, only C. sativus has been extensively studied for the composition and the biological properties of its styles, since these constitute the well-known spice saffron, which is widely used in the Mediterranean, Indian and Chinese diet. With high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and UV/vis spectroscopy, the presence of hydrophilic carotenoids in the styl...

The demand for saffron is expected to rise in the coming years due its nutraceutical and medicinal properties. To cope with this, it will be necessary develop a mechanised production of saffron. Upgrading methods requires accurate control flowering time this species. Nevertheless, little known about Crocus sativus L. aim study gain insight into floral induction regulatory networks operating A t...

From ancient times, the saffron Crocus sativus L. is widely used as drug to promote health and fight disease, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Saffron is cultivated in different parts of the world, but currently mainly in Iran. In view of its wide range of medical uses, the saffron has under gone extensive phytochemical and biochemical studies and variety of biologically active...

Crocins are among the active components of the plant Crocus Sativus L. C. Sativus L. and its constituents were effective in different models of psychiatric disorders including anxiety and depression. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common psychiatric disorder defined by the presence of obsessive thoughts and repetitive compulsive actions. The non selective serotonin (5-HT) receptor ago...

BACKGROUND Apoptosis, a widely important mechanism that contributes to cell growth reduction, is reported to be induced by Crocus sativus in different cancer types. The present study was designed to elucidate apoptosis induction by crocin, a main component of Crocus sativus in a human pancreatic cancer cell line (BxPC-3). METHODS Cell viability was measured by MTT assay, Hoechest33258 stainin...