Saffron: The Golden Spice With Therapeutic Properties on Digestive Diseases Publisher Pubmed



Ashktorab H¹ ; Soleimani A¹ ; Singh G² ; Amr A³ ; Tabtabaei S⁴ ; Latella G⁵ ; Stein U^{6, 7} ; Akhondzadeh S⁹ ; Solanki N⁸ ; Gondrelewis MC⁸ ; Habtezion A² ; Brim H¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Nutrients Published:2019

Abstract

Saffron is a natural compound that has been used for centuries in many parts of the world as a food colorant and additive. It was shown to have the ability to mitigate various disorders through its known anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. Several studies have shown the effectiveness of saffron in the treatment of various chronic diseases like inflammatory bowel diseases, Alzheimer’s, rheumatoid arthritis as well as common malignancies of the colon, stomach, lung, breast, and skin. Modern day drugs generally have unwanted side effects, which led to the current trend to use naturally occurring products with therapeutic properties. In the present review, the objective is to systematically analyze the wealth of information regarding the potential mechanisms of action and the medical use of saffron, the “golden spice”, especially in digestive diseases. We summarized saffron influence on microbiome, molecular pathways, and inflammation in gastric, colon, liver cancers, and associated inflammations. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.