Extraction and purification of safranal and crocin from saffron in pilot-scale

Saffron is a flowering plant with the scientific name Crocus Sativus L. According to ancient Iranian medicine,saffron is hot and dry, and in recent years, several researches have been conducted on saffron and safranal. This planthas antidepressant effects and is used to the extent of antidepressants such as fluoxetine and imipramine. Its effectiveingredients, including crocin and safranal, have inhibitory properties in the treatment of cancer. In this project, safranaland crocin were extracted and chromatography and infrared spectrometry tests were performed. Safranal is the mainaromatic substance of saffron, and the method used in this study was the extraction of safranal by vacuum distillation.The best solvent was ۵۰% methanol with a ratio of ۱:۲۰ with a safranal content of ۵۶ ppm. Also, in this study, totalcrocin was extracted from saffron stigmas by crystallization method. ۸۰% ethanol was chosen as the best extractionsolvent. The crystallization process was done in one and two steps.The crocin crystals obtained from the first crystallization were of low purity, and as a result, they were subjected to thesecond crystallization. The purity of crocin crystals was checked using HPLC. The purity of the total crystallized crocin inthis work was more than ۹۷%. The results of the present study showed that the crystallization of crocin from saffronand the extraction of safranal from saffron cream by vacuum distillation improved the extraction from the saffron plant,and this solution can be suggested to increase the economic productivity of saffron.

Keywords:

Crocin , safranal , saffron , purity percentage , crystalization