Abstract
Aim. The aim of this review was to investigate the effects of Crocus sativus (Saffron) on cardiovascular diseases from Iranian traditional medicine to modern phytotherapy.
Background. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) presently accounts for almost half of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and causes deaths of 17.3 million per year. Crocus sativus is one of the various traditional herbs that have been demonstrated to have therapeutic effects on cardiovascular disease. Crocus sativus, commonly known as Saffron, is a species of flowering plant of the Crocus genus in the Iridaceae family.
Method. Data were obtained from searching the scientific databases including Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and related Iranian traditional medicine books. The keywords included "Crocus sativus", "saffron", "cardiovascular diseases", "heart disease" and "therapeutic properties of saffron". Finally, searching in databases detected 58 records that 37 sources had the inclusion criteria and their full texts were carefully reviewed.
Findings. Crocus sativus shows antispasmodic, eupeptic, gingival sedative, anticatarrhal, nerve sedative, carminative, diaphoretic, expectorant, stimulant, stomachic, aphrodisiac, and emmenagogue activities. In addition, it is effective in treating cardiovascular disease. Crocus sativus extract has an anti-arrhythmic effect, vascular smooth muscle relaxant, blood pressure reducing effect and protective role on ischemic heart disease. Also, it can play an important role in stopping ischemic heart damage and be used as a new preventive tool for ischemic heart disease.
Conclusion. Many studies confirm that Crocus sativus has a wide range of pharmacological activities, but it seems more research is needed to evaluate these mechanisms.