The Remarkable Pharmacological Efficacy of Saffron Spice via Antioxidant, Immunomodulatory, and Antitumor Activities

Among the fatal diseases, cancer is considered on the top of the line worldwide. Surgery and radiation therapy are mainly used for its treatment, but seldom lead to cure, except in cases where the cancer is detected at the very initial phase. Chemotherapy is chosen for most late metastatic state of tumors; however, these drugs have an intense form of side effects as well as drug resistance development, new choice of drugs are required to overcome these side effects. Traditional medicines offer cure for cancer with low toxicity and minimal side effects. Contemporary study indicates that several vegetables, fruits, spices, and herbs have ingredients that can prevent the occurrence of cancer. Mother nature is laced with many pharmacological spices, which promises to cure cancer, and one such spice is saffron. Safran is used in traditional medicine as a medication in the society of the Middle East as a spice in the kitchen. Crocus sativus extract (CSE) is well established in various cancer treatment including melanoma metastasis, for its anticancer characteristics. As a successful source of novel anticancer medicines, CSE is a significant spice to look for novel causes because of its varied behavior. This chapter reviews the remarkable pharmacological efficacy of saffron investigated in recent years by our group and others.