Saffron Properties and Abu Ali Sina

Saffron Properties and Abu Ali Sina

Saffron properties have long been documented, from the descriptions Avicenna (Abu Ali Sina) recorded in his Canon of Medicine to modern pharmacological research. Researchers at the School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences published a review examining the medicinal properties attributed to saffron in Avicenna’s writings alongside contemporary scientific evidence.

The review was written by Dr. Hossein Hosseinzadeh, a professor at the School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, together with Dr. Marjan Nassiri-Asl, and was published in the Wiley journal Phytotherapy Research. It draws on the second book of Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine along with more than 80 other articles and books.

Saffron’s medicinal value comes mainly from the stigmas of the saffron plant. Their active constituents include carotenoids (such as crocin and crocetin), monoterpene aldehydes (picrocrocin and safranal), flavonoids, and other compounds.

In traditional medicine, the spice was used as an antipyretic (fever reducer), an astringent, an expectorant, a mood lifter, and an aphrodisiac, among other purposes.

The review explores these traditional uses across various body systems in detail.

A central part of the paper compares the effects Avicenna attributed to saffron with what modern scientific studies have since documented.

The second volume of the Canon of Medicine also describes oral use of saffron, and some of these applications have since been examined in clinical trials.

According to the Canon of Medicine, saffron was traditionally described as soothing inflammation of the ears and eyes. Its analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects have been documented mainly in animal studies.

The Canon also describes saffron as strengthening the eyes. Some preliminary studies have since investigated saffron in relation to eye strain and the health of the macula (the central part of the retina), though this research is early and far from conclusive.

According to the Canon of Medicine, saffron was traditionally described as easing menstrual discomfort and was historically associated with childbirth, and some small clinical trials have examined saffron — taken orally, or inhaled as aromatherapy for short sessions — for premenstrual syndrome symptoms, with encouraging but preliminary results (Hosseinzadeh & Nassiri-Asl, Phytotherapy Research, 2013).

Saffron has traditionally been described in the Canon of Medicine as a digestive aid and appetite stimulant, and one small randomized trial found that about 176.5 mg of a saffron extract taken daily for 8 weeks was associated with reduced snacking and a modest decrease in body weight in mildly overweight, healthy women (Gout et al., Nutrition Research, 2010). This was a single small study in a specific population, not a general weight-loss treatment, and the effect has not been confirmed more broadly.

These traditional uses and small clinical findings are interesting historically and scientifically, but they are not medical advice. Saffron is not a substitute for professional medical care, and anyone considering it for menstrual symptoms, childbirth, weight management, or during pregnancy should speak with a qualified healthcare provider first — high doses of saffron in particular are not considered safe in pregnancy.