An updated review on therapeutic effects of nanoparticle-based formulations of saffron components (safranal, crocin, and crocetin)

In recent years, nanotechnology has come to help researchers a lot in different fields. Especially in medicine and drug delivery, it presents new methods and technologies to increment levels of drug delivery to tumors and decrement side effects of drugs and molecules. Saffron, the dried stigma of the flower of the Crocus sativus plant, is one of the most widely used types of spice with many therapeutic applications that are related to its components: crocin, crocetin, and safranal. Saffron has been used as antispasmodic, anticatarrhal, eupeptic, nerve sedative, gingival sedative, diaphoretic, expectorant, carminative, stomachic, stimulant, emmenagogue, and aphrodisiac for years and now it has been made clear that it could have antioxidant, antidepressant, and anti-cancer activity. This review discusses how nanotechnology could help improve saffron’s pharmaceutical effects and makes it more functional in treatment.