Evaluation of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) adulteration with plant adulterants by 1H NMR metabolite fingerprinting

The relevance of pharmacognosy in pharmacological research on herbal medicinal products

“…For example, saffron (the red-dried stigmata of Crocus sativus L.) is frequently diluted with a variety of herbal materials [34][35][36].…”

Metabolomic fingerprinting of saffron by LC/MS: novel authenticity markers

“…Thus, a methodology based on NMR metabolite fingerprinting has been published very recently proving to be efficient for determining and identifying fraudulent additions of bulking agents to saffron, considering the difficulties in detecting saffron fraud according to the ISO 3632 standard methods, especially when plant adulterants are involved and the spice is commercialized in powder form [27]. Taking into account the deficiency of established methodologies to detect saffron adulteration with plant adulterants, the method developed could be viable for dealing with saffron frauds at a minimum level of 20 % (w/w) with four typical plant-derived materials employed as bulking agents in saffron (C. sativus stamens, safflower, turmeric, and gardenia).…”

Authentication of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy

“…For NMR measurement, 10 mg saffron was mixed with 1 mL methanol -d 4 and placed on a shaker (300 U/min) for 8 minutes. Afterwards, the saffron solution was filtrated and 600 µL were added to a NMR tube.…”

“…The nontargeted spectral "fingerprinting approach" is specifically advantageous to detect food fraud with previously unexpected substances. 6 As suggested in several previous studies [3][4][5] , NMR is a highly appropriate technique for saffron authentication. Based on these literature methods, we have developed our measurement protocol and evaluated authentic samples from official food control.…”

“…2 Another rather crude way of adulteration is to use artificial colours to falsify deteriorated natural material or by complete imitation using coloured paper and wood. [3][4][5] For this reason, saffron must be authenticated in food control, e.g. by analysing saffron-specific compounds using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic techniques.…”