Safranal
Safranal is an organic compound isolated from saffron, the spice consisting of the stigmas of crocus flowers. It is the constituent primarily responsible for the aroma of saffron.
It is believed that safranal is a degradation product of the carotenoid zeaxanthin via the intermediacy of picrocrocin.Pharmacology
Safranal is an effective anticonvulsant in animal models, shown to act as an agonist at GABAA receptors. Safranal also exhibits high antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity, along with cytotoxicity towards cancer cells in vitro.. One of its anticancer mechanisms of action involves disruption of the normal assembly dynamics of cellular microtubules. It has also been shown to have antidepressant properties in animals and pilot studies in humans.Natural sources of safranal include:
- Microcystis
- Aspalathus linearis
- Camellia sinensis
- Crocus sativus
- Ficus carica
- Lycium chinense
- Cuminum cyminum
- Centaurea sibthorpii
- Centaurea amanicola
- Centaurea consanguinea
- Erodium cicutarium
- Calycopteris floribunda
- Sambucus nigra
- Citrus limon
- Achillea distans
