Saffron (Crocus sativus)
Crocus sativus
Western and Ayurvedic herbalism
Western and Ayurvedic herbalism

Saffron

Crocus sativus

Also known as saffron crocus, Kashmiri saffron, Crocus, Kunkuma, Kesara, Kashmiraja.

WarmingMoisteningTaste: PungentTaste: BitterTaste: AromaticTaste: Sweet

Crocus sativus is a sterile, autumn-flowering corm plant of the iris family whose three red stigmas, hand-picked and dried, are saffron, the costliest spice and medicine in the world. In India it is grown almost entirely in the Karewa plateaus of Kashmir around Pampore, with smaller plantings in Himachal and Uttarakhand. Ayurveda knows it as Kunkuma or Kesara, a warming, aromatic tridoshahara drug used in tiny amounts to brighten complexion and mind, ease menstrual pain, kindle desire and settle the stomach, and it is the defining ingredient of Kumkumadi taila, the classical face oil.

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AntidepressantAnxiolyticNervine tonicEmmenagogueAntispasmodicAphrodisiacAntioxidantAnti-inflammatoryCognitive supportAntiplatelet (mild)Skin brightening (topical)NervineCarminativeAdaptogenAlterativeDiureticBitter tonicExpectorantAntinociceptiveHypolipidemic

Indications what the tradition reached for it in

Specific indications

A woman with a flat, joyless mood, poor sleep and a heavy week before her period, who wants something gentler than a prescription antidepressant or needs support while one takes effect

The patient on an SSRI whose mood has lifted but whose libido and sexual response have gone, where a small daily dose restores what the drug took

An older person whose memory is slipping and whose mood is low, with dry skin and a pale, dull complexion, the vata-kapha picture that Kesara warms and brightens

Painful, clotted periods in a cold, tense young woman, taken in warm milk in the days before the flow

Safety

Low dose botanical. Used in drop doses in the classical practice; not a plant to dose freely.

Pregnancy: Avoid medicinal doses in pregnancy: no published safety class is known to us with certainty, but doses of several grams have caused uterine bleeding and abortion, while culinary pinches in food are traditional and regarded as safe.

The record lists 8 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.

In practice

Kesara is given in threads rather than grams. The classical vehicle is warm milk, a few strands steeped until the milk turns gold, taken at night for mood, sleep, libido and painful periods, or in the morning for a dull, cold, kapha-vata patient who lacks brightness.

In Ayurveda

Rasa: katu (pungent), tikta (bitter). Virya: ushna (heating). Vipaka: katu (pungent). Guna: snigdha (unctuous), laghu (light). Dosha: pacifies all three doshas, with its strongest effect on vata and kapha; the classical texts call it tridoshahara. Prabhava: varnya and vyangahara (brightens complexion and removes facial discoloration) is the special action the tradition names. Karma: varnya (improves complexion); vyangahara (removes facial pigmentation); vishaghna (counters toxins); vrishya (aphrodisiac); hridya (supports the heart and mind); medhya (promotes intellect); chardinigrahana (relieves vomiting); shirovirechana (clears the head); artavajanana (promotes menstruation); garbhashaya shodhana (cleanses the uterus); vedanasthapana (relieves pain); kaphahara (reduces kapha). Classical indications: vyanga (facial hyperpigmentation); shiroroga (disorders of the head); kushtha (skin disease); chardi (vomiting); krimi (worms); vrana (wounds); artava dosha (menstrual disorders); kashtartava (painful menstruation); klaibya (male sexual dysfunction); kasa (cough); shvasa (dyspnea); manasa roga (disorders of mind and mood); netraroga (eye disorders). The dried stigmas are the drug, used in tiny doses steeped in warm milk, ground with milk or rose water as a paste for the face, cooked into medicated ghee and oil, and added to confections and rejuvenative jams. It is one of the most expensive medicines in the pharmacopoeia and is used as an adjunct in many compound formulas. Classical formulations: Kumkumadi taila, Kumkumadi ghrita, Kumkumadi lepa, Kameshwara modaka, Jatiphaladi churna, Chyawanprash (premium recipes). Described in: Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, Ashtanga Hridaya, Bhavaprakasha Nighantu, Dhanvantari Nighantu, Raja Nighantu, Kaiyadeva Nighantu, Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India.

Dosing as the sources wrote it

PreparationAs writtenMetric
Kshirapaka20-50 mg stigma steeped in 150-200 mL warm milk once daily at bedtime20-50 mg
Churna30-100 mg powdered stigma daily with milk or honey30-100 mg
Standardized extract15-30 mg stigma extract twice daily15-30 mg
Taila, topical3-5 drops Kumkumadi taila massaged into the face at night0.06-0.1 mL
Dried stigmaDried stigma 30-100 mg/day30-100 mg
ExtractExtract 30 mg/day for depression (6-8 weeks)30-30 mg

Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.

From the sources

Overview. Crocus sativus is a sterile, autumn-flowering corm plant of the iris family whose three red stigmas, hand-picked and dried, are saffron, the costliest spice and medicine in the world. In India it is grown almost entirely in the Karewa plateaus of Kashmir around Pampore, with smaller plantings in Himachal and Uttarakhand. Ayurveda knows it as Kunkuma or Kesara, a warming, aromatic tridoshahara drug used in tiny amounts to brighten complexion and mind, ease menstrual pain, kindle desire and settle the stomach, and it is the defining ingredient of Kumkumadi taila, the classical face oil.

Clinical Notes. Used traditionally for 4000+ years Strongest clinical evidence for mild-moderate depression (equivalent to fluoxetine) Common adulteration Petals as cheaper alternative in some studies Expensive, use in small amounts in formulas

Clinical Notes. Kesara is given in threads rather than grams. The classical vehicle is warm milk, a few strands steeped until the milk turns gold, taken at night for mood, sleep, libido and painful periods, or in the morning for a dull, cold, kapha-vata patient who lacks brightness.

Action and Therapy. Reputed diaphoretic and emmenagogue, this agent was formerly used in amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhea, and suppression of the lochia. Five-drop doses of the tincture of crocus is advised for menorrhagia, with dark clotted losses; and the infusion (Saffron, 1 drachm; hot water, 16 fluidounces), in doses of 1 to 3 fluidounces to hasten the appearance of the eruption in measles. It must not be confounded with “Dyer's Saffron” ( Carthamus tinctorius), which see under Carthamus. It may be used to color tinctures orange yellow, but it is too expensive for that purpose.

Drawn from Cook's Physio-Medical Dispensatory; King's American Dispensatory, 18th edition (Felter and Lloyd); Ellingwood's American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy; Felter's Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and the Bountiful Herbs editorial.

In formulas

Saffron stands in 191 documented formulas in the library, among them Kanakāsava, Daśamūlāriṣṭa, Drākṣāriṣṭa, Mṛdvīkāriṣṭa, Karpūrādyarka, Cyavanaprāśa.

Often paired with

Black teaCamellia sinensisZhi ZiGardenia jasminoidesLicorice rootGlycyrrhiza glabraChinese skullcapScutellaria baicalensisDong QuaiAngelica sinensisWhite PeonyPaeonia lactiflora

Nearby on the shelf

Sacred lotusNelumbo nuciferaSafed musliAsparagus adscendensSafed musliChlorophytum borivilianumSafflowerCarthamus tinctoriusSageSalvia officinalisSagoSagoSal treeShorea robustaSalepOrchis mascula

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