Herbs, spices and their active components as natural antimicrobials in foods Effect of natural antioxidants in herbs and spices on shelf life of foods Ajowan Aniseed Asafoetida Allspice Capers and caperberries Caraway Celery Chervil Fennel and fennel seed Galangal Kaffir lime leaf Lavender Lemongrass Lovage Nigella Oregano Poppy Sesame Star anise Tarragon Tamarind Other significant herbs and spices.

Handbook of Herbs and Spices

Background
Crocus sativus L. (saffron) is used in folk medicine, for example as an antiedematogenic agent. We aimed to evaluate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity of saffron extracts in mice.

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Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of Crocus sativus L. stigma and petal extracts in mice

Since cancer is the most common cause of death in the world population, the possibility that readily available natural substances from plants, vegetables, herbs, and spices may be beneficial in the prevention of cancer warrants closer examination. Saffron in filaments is the dried, dark red stigmata of Crocus sativus L. flowers and it is used as a spice, food colorant, and a drug in medicine. A growing body of research has demonstrated that saffron extract itself and its main constituents, the carotenoids, possess chemopreventive properties against cancer. This review discusses recent literature data and our results on the cancer chemopreventive activities of saffron and its main ingredients.

Cancer chemopreventive and tumoricidal properties of saffron (Crocus sativus L.).

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Biomedical properties of saffron and its potential use in cancer therapy and chemoprevention trials

Radical scavenging activity is involved in aging processes, antiinflammatory, anticancer and wound healing activity. Hence, in the present study the DPPH radical scavenging activity of a natural product that possesses biological properties, an extract of Crocus sativus L. (saffron), grown in Crocos, Kozani (Greece), and some of its bioactive constituents (crocin, safranal) was studied. It was shown that a methanol extract of Crocus sativus exhibited high antioxidant activity, although it contains several active and inactive constituents. In trying to approximate a structure-activity relationship, two bioactive constituents of saffron extract were tested, namely crocin and safranal. Crocin showed high radical scavenging activity (50% and 65% for 500 and 1,000 ppm solution in methanol, respectively), followed by safranal (34% for 500 ppm solution). All the tested samples showed high radical scavenging activity, probably due to the ability to donate a hydrogen atom to the DPPH radical.Thus, saffron grown in Greece can be used promisingly in functional foods, drinks with antioxidant activity, in pharmaceutical and cosmetic preparations for their antioxidant activity and probably for their antiaging activity. Saffron can also be used internally in the form of powder or other pharmacotechnical formulae as a food supplement with antioxidant properties.

Gonzalo-Luis Alonso

Papers

Crocin, safranal and picrocrocin from saffron (Crocus sativus L.) inhibit the growth of human cancer cells in vitro