Medicinal Use of Crocus Seeds
Crocus, which has a very old history as a traditional treatment method, has been found by modern medicine to have anticarcinogenic (cancer suppressive), antimutagenic (mutation inhibitor), immunomodulating, and antioxidant-like properties.
Uses of Crocus
Crocus is generally used as a food and fabric dye; It is used as oil and essence in perfumery. More importantly, it is used as indispensable in the treatment of fmf (familial mediterranean fever), behçet's and gout disease, especially in the field of medicine. Thanks to anti-carcinogenic substances, it strengthens the immune and nervous system. As it cleans the liver, it also cleans the harmful cells in the blood and reduces the risk of vascular occlusion. Crocus flower strengthens the heart muscles and reduces the rate of heart diseases. The components of Crocus prevent the deterioration of the acid balance, which causes depression in the body. This Due to its properties, Crocus is widely used in the field of mental health. Due to its effective antioxidant properties, Crocus is beneficial for the digestive system. Since Crocus is rich in potassium, it helps keep blood pressure at healthy levels. The contents of Crocus are also beneficial for skin health. It is widely used in Crocus skin masks to cleanse the skin and keep it youthful.
Technical Details for Colchicine Manufacturers
In Anatolia, 27 species (28 taxa) of the genus Colchicum bloom in autumn and 8 species in early spring. The genus consists of 35 species (36 taxa) in total, 15 of which are endemic to Turkey. 80% of the seeds exported are Colchicum speciosum seeds. These seeds contain colchicine, 3-demethyl colchicine and colchicoside. Column chromatography studies using silica gel, polyamide and cellulose column fillers in certain volumes and at certain intervals (using the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) method by performing 95:5 methanol-water extraction) has been done. The purity of the extracts was checked by both TLC and HPLC. As a result, the best extraction efficiency was obtained after 5 hours of agitation with 200 mL methanol-water solvent system. It was determined that there was 0.2-0.25% colchicine in the seeds. As a result of modified studies with SFE at 35 °C, 247 bar pressure, 1.5 mL/min flow rate and various ratios, a crude mixture containing around 0.2% colchicine was obtained. Silica was determined as the most suitable stationary phase in column chromatography and purification was carried out using various ratios of ethyl acetate-methanol-water mobile phase. 3 What can be said definitively based on this study; If our existing seeds are evaluated in an area of ​​1000 hectares, it means opening the way for a market of approximately 1 billion dollars. Many Colchicum genus plants grow in Turkey, mainly Colchicum speciosum. These species are very valuable plants due to the alkaloids they contain. The most important of these alkaloids is colchicine, which is used in the treatment of common ailments such as gout, familial Mediterranean fever, and Behçet's disease. These plants are collected and processed to isolate the colchicine it contains, and the isolated colchicine is used as a commercial product today under the name of different companies.