Saffron extract: origin, benefits and uses.

Profile: Saffron Plant Extract

Fiche d'identité : Extrait végétal de safran.

Commonly known as: Crocus Sativus Flower Extract (INCI), also known as Saffron Crocus, or red.

Botanical name: Crocus sativus L.

Extraction process: Solvent extraction.

Family: Iridaceae.

Extracted part of the plant: Stigmas of flowers.

Cultivation area, origin: Originating from Greece, then spreading all around the Mediterranean basin, to Western Europe and Asia.

Blooming: In autumn, from October to November.

Origin, provenance: Lot (France).

Phytochemical composition: Carotenoids (crocine, safranal, picrocrocin, crocetin), flavonoids (kaempferol), polysaccharides, vitamins (vitamin B6, B9, C) and minerals (magnesium, manganese, iron).

Sensory properties: Appearance: Liquid; Colour: Yellow - Orange; Scent: Pungent, floral, woody, with metallic, aniseed and camphor notes.

Physical properties: Soluble in water; Insoluble in fats; Density: 1.130 - 1.180 g/cm3; pH: 4.0 - 5.5; Recommended usage percentage: 1 to 3%.

Concerns: Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-ageing, healing, moisturising, photoprotective.

Effect: All skin typologies; All hair types.

Properties

Anti-inflammatory: Reducing the inflammatory response by regulating pro-inflammatory signalling pathways that cause redness, itching, and sensations of heat;
Antioxidant: Protects cells from oxidation and therefore from the action of free radicals by neutralising them through electron donation;
Anti-ageing: Delaying skin ageing by blocking the activity of elastase, collagenase, and hyaluronidase, enzymes responsible for the degradation of elastin, collagen, and hyaluronic acid
Healing: Accelerating the healing process by stimulating the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) and by inducing the migration and differentiation of keratinocytes;
Moisturiser: Promotes the absorption and retention of water through the presence of polysaccharides, allowing for a supple and plump skin;
Photoprotective: Protecting the skin from the effects of UV rays by increasing the sun protection factor (SPF) of the sun care products in which it is added, in addition to having an SPF of 6.6;
Protector: Protecting the genes of skin cells from the disruption of the circadian cycle caused by UV rays, thus contributing to the proper functioning of biological processes regulated by the circadian cycle.

The cultivation of saffron is an ancestral practice dating back to around 5,000 years BC. This precious spice is the most expensive in the world, selling between 30 and 40 euros per gram, its price following that of gold. Its high cost is due to the intensive manual labour required: 130 to 200 flowers are needed to obtain 5 grams of fresh stigmas, which will yield 1 gram of dried saffron. In the past, the purple flower of saffron adorned the heads of priests, notably in the temple of Venus, the goddess of love. In antiquity, a young man named Crocus fell in love with the nymph Smilax. This passion was bewitched when Smilax transformed him into a saffron flower. The fiery orange stigmas of this flower symbolise Crocus's immortal passion. Thus, the flower took the name Crocus sativus. It is also said that Cleopatra used saffron in the first toilet water, known as "kyphi", which later became a sacred incense for the Egyptian pharaohs. "Crocus sativus" is a Latin term derived from the Greek word "krokos", meaning filament or hair, in reference to the shape of the stigmas. The word "saffron" comes from the Latin "safranum", drawn from the Arabo-Persian "za'faran" meaning yellow. The term "sativus" refers to its cultivation, as saffron is primarily grown for its stigmas.