TLC Preparative Purification of Picrocrocin, HTCC and Crocin from Saffron

Abstract

A method for the extraction and purification of saffron secondary metabolites was developed. Among the solvents checked water was the most convenient for picrocrocin, 2,6,6-trimethyl-4-hydroxy-l-carboxaldehyde-1-cyclohexene (HTCC) and crocin extraction from saffron stigmas. The compounds were separated by analytical and preparative thin layer chromatography on aluminum oxide, and identified by spectroscopic techniques. Quantitative determination was performed by high performance liquid chromatography methods with reverse ohase C-18. Picrocrocin. HTCC and crocin isolated bv oreoarative TLC showed a chromatographic purity of 98%, 96% a&.70%, isolation yields being 88, 98 and 70%, respectively. The isolated compounds may be useful as food colorants.

Volatile organic compounds from saffron

“…It is a monoterpene aldehyde, formed in saffron by hydrolysis from picrocrocin during drying and storage. 9,10 Difficulties encountered in saffron secondary metabolites extraction and biochemical analysis may be primarily due to their degradation. Crocin and picrocrocin, which are biosynthesized in plant cells, tend to naturally degrade in the cells of stigmata during flowering, drying, storage and extraction.…”

Production Practices and Quality Assessment of Food Crops Volume 1

“…Certain dishes are traditionally seasoned with saffron such as paella, French bouillabaisse (fish and shellfish stew), arroz con polo, bacalao a la viz caina, risotto Milan style, pastries in Greek islands, baked products in Sweden, Central Europe, Britain etc. Boonenkamp, Benedictine, 'sand pear' vermouth and other bitter drinks) and sauces (Basker and Negbi, 1983;Sampathu et al, 1984;Knewstubb and Henry, 1988;Timberlake and Henry, 1986;Rees, 1988;Oberdieck, 1991;Iborra et al, 1992a;Dufresne et al, 1999;Negbi, 1999;Selim et al, 2000). The amounts needed in all cases are extremely low (1-10 mg/kg) except for alcoholic drinks and meat (20-200 mg/kg).…”

Evaluation of Crocins in Cheeses Made with Saffron by UHPLC

“…Crocins represent from 0.5 to 32.4% of saffron's dry matter, 3 while picrocrocin ranges from 0.8 to 26.6% on a dry matter. [3][4][5] Food items containing saffron are generally expected to provide an added value for consumers, thanks to its potential health promoting compounds. For this reason, saffron has been widely studied and many analytical methods for its compounds determination are available: in particular, the standard method, 6 which specifies the test methods for dried saffron (filaments and powder) obtained from the Crocus sativus L. flower, is based on the use of UV-Vis spectrophotometry to determine the quality of saffron in international commercial agreements, but many other analytical methods were developed, such as: thin layer chromatography, 4 high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector, 7 high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, 8,9 near infrared spectroscopy, 10 capillary electrophoresis, 11 UV-Vis Fourier transform (FT)-Raman with proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies.…”