Power In a Pinch: Saffron Spice -Cardiovascular, Cancer Benefit

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Medicinal Power In a Pinch:

Saffron Spice-Cardiovascular, Cancer Benefit

JoAnn Guest

Sep 09, 2004 19:31 PDT

 

 

For January 7, 2002

http://www.cancerdecisions.com/010702.html

 

Power In a Pinch

" Your arms are vines, covered with delicious fruits And all sorts of

spices, henna, nard, saffron and all the finest spices. "

 

--Song of Solomon 4.14

 

Spices are pungent, aromatic plant substances that add zest and

flavor

to food. As the Biblical quotation indicates, they have been highly

prized since antiquity. Hundreds of years ago, there was even an

Iberian

" Spice Race " similar to the " Space Race " of the late 20th century.

Columbus was looking for a quick route to Eastern spices, and bloody

wars were fought over these alluring substances. Did you know that

the

Dutch traded Manhattan for a tiny island in the Moluccas that

produced

nutmeg? They were sure they got the better of the deal.

 

Today, herbs and spices are easy to come by. But one spice remains

quite expensive and that is saffron. Ounce for ounce, it is still

worth its

weight in precious metals. Saffron usually sells for about $5 per

gram,

or $140 per ounce

 

 

Crocus sativa L. (above)

The price remains high because gathering saffron is a labor

intensive

business. Saffron is the orange stigma (part of the pistil) of the

blue-violet, or white, lily-shaped flower, Crocus sativa L. It takes

70,000 such flowers to yield the 200,000 dried stigmas that make up

just

one pound of saffron. Most saffron packages read " Made in Spain. "

However, most " Spanish saffron " now comes from Iran, the world's

leading

exporter. (We are talking here about true saffron, not " American

saffron, " a kind of safflower, that is sometimes used to adulterate

the

real thing.) --See illustration, right.

 

 

Luckily, saffron is so powerful that you need only a pinch to pack a

wallop. Even after boiling, it retains much of its alluring aroma.

You

can crush a small amount in your fingers or in a mortar, add some

hot

water, and then add that to your dish. In most recipes saffron is

added

in the latter part of preparation, moments before removing the dish

from

the oven or stove top, in order to conserve its flavor and color.

 

It is common to use about four strands of saffron per person. I am

wildly profligate in my use of saffron. I can afford to be, since

last

year I purchased an ounce of it for just $20 in New York's famous

Indian

neighborhood, Jackson Heights, Queens. That lasts a long time. When

buying, look for an intense red-orange color and avoid brands that

contain the yellow stamens (which have color but no flavor).

 

In folk medicine, saffron has many uses.

 

It is said to improve digestion and to regulate a woman's period. In

large doses it can affect the color of urine, sweat, and other body

secretions, turning them bright yellow.

In great amounts it can produce a state of drunkenness, dizziness,

vertigo, and headaches. I have seen

recommendations of 2 to 4 grams (about a seventh of an ounce) to a

quart

of water for an infusion (tea), and around 1 grams (one twenty-

eighth of

an ounce) daily to help bowel activity.

 

Saffron's Health Effects

 

What does saffron contain? The essential oil of saffron is a complex

mixture of at least 30 components, mainly terpenes.

 

Not surprisingly, it has lots of riboflavin, the intensely yellow

vitamin B2.

 

It also contains antioxidants such as crocin, a flavonoid that is a

major source

of the characteristic yellowish-red pigment. Picrocrocin is a

colorless

bitter glycoside that gives saffron its characteristic taste.

 

Saffron has all sorts of interesting and potentially important

health

effects.

 

It increases oxidation and therefore could be useful in various

heart conditions.

 

In animals, saffron has been shown to lower cholesterol by 50

percent.

 

There is speculation that the low incidence of cardiovascular

disease in parts of Spain may be related to their

liberal, almost daily, consumption of saffron.

 

What is particularly intriguing is saffron's potential role in

cancer

prevention.

 

This was first brought to public attention in the 1990s by

S.C. Nair of the Amala Cancer Research Centre and Hospital, Kerala,

India.

 

In several papers, Nair showed that saffron and its components

had surprisingly strong anticancer activity.

 

Some components in saffron act as " topo II " inhibitors, similar to

the chemotherapeutic drug Adriamcyin. Yet, unlike Adriamycin,

saffron is non-toxic.

 

Nair noted a dose-dependent cancer effect on carcinoma, sarcoma and

leukemia cells in the test tube.

 

Saffron increased the life span of treated mice compared

to untreated controls by 45 to 120 percent.

 

In addition, it delayed the onset of papillomas.

 

Just this November, Indian scientists showed that saffron decreased

the

damage to the DNA and the liver caused by various forms of

chemotherapy.

 

Long-term treatment with crocin of female rats with colon cancer

enhanced their survival without major toxic effects.

 

" The effects of crocin might be related to its strong cytotoxic

effect on cultured tumor cells, " Spanish scientists concluded.

 

Scientists have also shown that extracts of saffron inhibit cell

growth

of human tumor cells.

 

Cancer cells treated with crocin had empty areas,

reduced cytoplasm, and a destruction of their DNAÉ all potentially

good

things for patients.

 

Crocin, they said, is a " promising saffron compound

to be assayed as a cancer therapeutic agent. "

 

A provocative study from Greece showed that saffron was comparable

to

all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in terms of its anticancer activity.

 

ATRA

is a form of vitamin A that is conventionally used to treat some

head-and-neck cancers.

 

Although saffron extracts are slightly less active than ATRA, they

are not precursors of vitamin A and " could therefore be less toxic

than retinoids, even at high doses. "

 

A Saffron Laboratory?

 

Now that's a lot of power in a pinch! But can saffron really prevent

cancer in humans?

We don't know and won't know until clinical tests are

done. Despite repeated calls for trials, none has taken place and

none

is listed in the standard databases.

 

If I were director of the National Cancer Institute, I would set up

a

Saffron Laboratory (similar to the Brassica Laboratory at Johns

Hopkins): it would do nothing but test saffron and other Indian

spices

for anticancer activity.

 

I would recruit outstanding scientists who are already working on

these indigenous herbal products.

 

And I wouldn't be satisfied until these were submitted to rigorous

human clinical trials

for anti-cancer activity.

 

In the meantime, you can use and enjoy saffron right away. It is

available in most groceries, co-ops and health food stores. You can

buy

it online or, do as I did: go to an Indian neighborhood, seek out a

busy

market, and buy your saffron there. With the money you save you can

treat your family to quite a few saffron-flavored Indian meals.

 

Till next week....best wishes for your safety, good health and peace

of mind!

 

Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

 

 

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

The news and other items in this newsletter are intended for

informational purposes only. Nothing in this newsletter is intended

to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

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CancerDecisions®

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JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

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