What is Saffron

Saffron is a special plant that can also be used as medicine. We often eat similar foods in our daily lives, such as wolfberry. It has high nutritional value and a wide range of uses. It can also be used for pickles, massage, etc. We eat or use them because they are good for our health. So it is important to understand what food is and what effects it has.

Different foods not only have different nutritional values, but also have different types and characteristics. However, if they evolved from the same kind of food, then we can only say that their essence is the same, but their properties will also change. So we only need to know what they are to understand their properties, so what is saffron?

Saffron, also known as saffron and western saffron, is a perennial herb of the genus Crocus in the family Iridaceae. Angiosperms, Monocots, Liliales, it is also a common spice. Crocus is native to Southwest Asia, but was first cultivated by the Greeks. It is mainly distributed in Europe, the Mediterranean and Central Asia. It was introduced to China during the Ming Dynasty. "Compendium of Materia Medica" listed it as a medicine. It is grown in Zhejiang, China and other places. It is a precious Chinese medicinal material with a unique aroma, slightly irritating and slightly bitter taste. The best ones are those with long body, purple-red color, moist and shiny, few yellow pistils, and spicy and cool taste. It has strong physiological activity, and its stigma is used as medicine in Asia and Europe. It has sedative, expectorant and antispasmodic effects. It is used to treat stomach problems, menstruation, measles, fever, jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, etc.

effect

1. Effects on liver and gallbladder. Saffron has a choleretic effect, and crocin can lower cholesterol and increase fat metabolism. It can be used in combination with traditional Chinese medicines such as hawthorn, cassia seed, and Alisma orientalis for the treatment of fatty liver. Saffron improves microcirculation, promotes the secretion and excretion of bile, thereby reducing abnormally elevated globulin and total bilirubin, and can be used to treat cirrhosis after chronic viral hepatitis. Crocetin has a chemopreventive effect on early acute liver damage caused by toxic substances and has the potential to be used in the treatment of chronic cholecystitis.

2. Effects on the circulatory system. Saffron extract has a stimulating effect on breathing. Under conditions of hypoxia at normal pressure, it can enhance the oxygen metabolism function in cells, improve the heart's tolerance to hypoxia, and to a certain extent reduce the damage to myocardial cells caused by strenuous exercise, thus having a certain protective effect on the heart.

3. Immunomodulatory effect. Saffron is clinically used to treat a variety of chronic diseases in the human body. Through its effects of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, it enhances the body's endurance and lymphocyte proliferation response, thereby improving the body's cellular immunity and humoral immunity, and plays a role in adjusting the flow of human qi and balancing the body's yin and yang.

4. Anti-tumor effect. Modern research has found that saffron preparations have significant anti-cancer capabilities.

5. Effect on kidneys: It is believed that the pathogenesis of glomerulonephritis is closely related to platelets and the inflammatory mediators they release. Saffron has achieved significant therapeutic effects in interfering with animal models of nephritis. Saffron can keep renal capillaries unobstructed, increase renal blood flow, and promote the repair of inflammatory damage. It is best to take saffron to replenish blood and qi. Although it has side effects, it does not matter much as long as it is not taken in excess. At the same time, it is very effective for irregular menstruation, endocrine disorders, etc., and it also has anti-aging and beauty effects.

Saffron is a herb that originated in Southwest Asia, so it is a relatively precious food, but not everyone can eat it. Although its nutritional value is very high, it is still better for people with special sensitive characteristics to eat it with caution. In Asia, saffron is known to have a calming effect.