VALORISATION OF SAFFRON (CROCUS SATIVUS)

The medicinal virtues of saffron have lately been rediscovered. However, the new findings confirming ancient knowledge in modern research can only be made accessible to the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industry if quality can be defined and controlled on all levels of production, from the field down to the finished product. According to EU regulations, the industry needs traceable material of reproducible composition, specifically tailored to the intended use by selection of a suitable cultivar and the appropriate extraction method. Within our screening project, we are building up a database on the characteristics of identified saffron cultivars. Extraction procedures were developed for various applications, and quality control systems installed on all levels from the field to the extract. In addition to saffron extracts, value-added products from other plant parts of Crocus sativus are currently under examination, which might increase the benefits from saffron production for the producing countries.