Safranal is an organic compound isolated from saffron, the spice consisting of the stigmas of crocus flowers (Crocus sativus). It is the constituent primarily responsible for the aroma of saffron.[1]
It is believed that safranal is a degradation product of the carotenoid zeaxanthin via the intermediate picrocrocin.
Pharmacology
Safranal is an effective anticonvulsant in animal models, shown to act as an agonist at GABAA receptors.[2][3] Safranal also exhibits high antioxidant activity,[4][5] along with cytotoxicity towards cancer cells in vitro.[6] One of its anticancer mechanisms of action involves disruption of the normal assembly dynamics of cellular microtubules.[7] It has also been shown to have antidepressant properties in animals and pilot studies in humans.[8][9]
Natural sources
Natural sources of safranal include:[10][unreliable source?]
- Microcystis (cyanobacterium)
- Aspalathus linearis (rooibos)
- Camellia sinensis (tea leaf)
- Crocus sativus (saffron)
- Ficus carica (fig leaf)
- Lycium chinense (wolfberry)
- Cuminum cyminum (cumin seed)[11]
- Centaurea sibthorpii [12]
- Centaurea amanicola[12]
- Centaurea consanguinea[12]
- Erodium cicutarium (common stork’s-bill or pinweed)[12]
- Calycopteris floribunda (ukshi)[12]
- Sambucus nigra (elderberry)[12]
- Citrus limon (lemon)[12]
- Achillea distans [12]
References
- ^ “safranal”. scentsandflavors.com. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
- ^ Hosseinzadeh H; Talebzadeh F (December 2005). “Anticonvulsant evaluation of safranal and crocin from Crocus sativus in mice”. Fitoterapia. 76 (7–8): 722–4. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2005.07.008. PMID 16253437.
- ^ Hosseinzadeh H; Sadeghnia HR (April 2007). “Protective effect of safranal on pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures in the rat: involvement of GABAergic and opioids systems”. Phytomedicine. 14 (4): 256–62. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2006.03.007. PMID 16707256.
- ^ Hosseinzadeh H; Sadeghnia HR (2005). “Safranal, a constituent of Crocus sativus (saffron), attenuated cerebral ischemia induced oxidative damage in rat hippocampus”. Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences. 8 (3): 394–9. PMID 16401389.
- ^ Assimopoulou AN; Sinakos Z; Papageorgiou VP (November 2005). “Radical scavenging activity of Crocus sativus L. extract and its bioactive constituents”. Phytotherapy Research. 19 (11): 997–1000. doi:10.1002/ptr.1749. PMID 16317646. S2CID 23907085.
- ^ Escribano J; Alonso GL; Coca-Prados M; Fernandez JA (February 1996). “Crocin, safranal and picrocrocin from saffron (Crocus sativus L.) inhibit the growth of human cancer cells in vitro”. Cancer Letters. 100 (1–2): 23–30. doi:10.1016/0304-3835(95)04067-6. PMID 8620447.
- ^ Cheriyamundath S, Choudhary S, Lopus M (2017). “Safranal inhibits HeLa cell viability by perturbing the reassembly potential of microtubules”. Phytother Res. 32: 170–173. doi:10.1002/ptr.5938. PMID 29024138.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Hosseinzadeh H; Karimi G; Niapoor M (2004). “Antidepressant effect of Crocus sativus L. stigma extracts and their constituents, crocin and safranal, in mice”. Acta Horticulturae. 650 (650): 435–45. doi:10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.650.54.
- ^ Akhondzadeh S; Fallah-Pour H; Afkham K; Jamshidi AH; Khalighi-Cigaroudi F (September 2004). “Comparison of Crocus sativus L. and imipramine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: A pilot double-blind randomized trial ISRCTN45683816”. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 4: 12. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-4-12. PMC 517724. PMID 15341662.
- ^ “List of Chemicals”. sun.ars-grin.gov. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ Yan JH; Tang KW; Zhong M; Deng NH (November 2002). “[Determination of chemical components of volatile oil from Cuminum cyminum L. by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry]”. Se Pu (in Chinese). 20 (6): 569–72. PMID 12683011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ramin Rezaee; Hossein Hosseinzadeh (January 2013). “[Safranal: From an Aromatic Natural Product to a Rewarding Pharmacological Agent]”. Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences. 16 (1): 12–26. PMC 3637901. PMID 23638289.