Medical Uses of Saffron

Saffron is considered to be the most valuable spice in the food market. Saffron comes from a plant called Crocus sativus and by drying its stigmas, you get a spice known as saffron. As well as being an amazing additive to food and beverages, saffron has many pharmacological benefits. Throughout the years, there have been many medical uses of saffron. It is estimated that the world’s annual saffron production is close to 300 tons per year and Iran is the first country that supplies the market’s demand by covering up to 90% of the saffron exported and imported by other countries.

So, what are the medical uses of saffron?

Traditional Usage of Saffron Worldwide

Traditionally, saffron was used in the Indian Ayurvedic health system as a sleeping herb, to treat coughing, menstrual flow, anti-asthma, adaptogenic, and folk medicine. Moreover, saffron was used in various narcotics that were primarily used as a pain reliever.

Also, saffron was used to treat depression in the east as it had quite a reputation to cheer up people when they were feeling down. It is said that in traditional Chinese medicine, saffron played an important role and even now, saffron is being used for medical purposes. There are plenty of medical uses of saffron and history has shown us that they used a saffron mixture to help soldiers with their wounds after battles.

Medical Uses of Saffron in 2021

Due to the properties of saffron, high-quality saffron is known to help with the early stages of cancer. Moreover, the saponin from saffron is known to have great properties and helps prevent tumor-related issues in the body. There is much research being conducted on medical uses of saffron, one particular use is its effect on the hippocampus. In one research, ethanol-impaired memory refers to a condition that diminishes physical or mental control due to taking drugs or alcohol.

Conclusion

If we were to talk about the medical uses of saffron, we’d have to talk for hours and reference a few good research papers that have been conducted on saffron and its benefits. In the history of saffron, it is mentioned that saffron was used for a variety of things. For example, they used saffron as a perfume for the royal family as well as dying the carpet that was placed in the king’s palaces. However, saffron was also used for its medicinal uses. They used to use saffron to treat wounded soldiers as well as treat mild depression.